•w 



e ,\ 




r^t*. •; 









1 • C* ^n 



* AT > ° 



^ ^ * Mfe* W -Sfe • %/#fe* r 









k% ***tiak** *V<Sk% /**&> 






^o 1 






*V' % #: ^ # > K V™V V #T ^V 



^•v 



* VA *. 



6 *<V .! 











^ 



■v 



6 > V "V 





*- t % 



*■ 



















: *hs* • 



* v ^ 




** V \ 



WORKS BY 
DR. HALPHIDE. 

MIND AND BODY. 

Hypnotism and Suggestion applied in 

Therapeutics and Education. 

12mo., silk cloth, gilt edge, 231 pages, $1.00. 

THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 

A Study of the Inner Life of Man. 
12mo., silk cloth, gilt edge, 228 pages, $1.00. 

THE QUEST OF AN IDEAL. 

A STORY. 

12mo., silk cloth, g-ilt edge, in preparation. 

For sale by booksellers everywhere and by 

the Authors' Publishing Co., 

3217 Wabash Avenue, 
CHICAGO. 

Books sent postpaid on receipt of price. 



THE 



PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM 



A. C. HALPHIDE 

A. B., M. D., B. D., Etc. 

author of mind and body, the theory and 

practice: of suggestive therapeutics, 

CLIN^CaL hypnotism, etc., etc 



FIRST EDITION 



PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHORS' PUBLISHING CO. 

CHICAGO 

1901 



>**' 



& 



% 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copies Received 

MAY. 20 1901 

Copyright entry 

S^*- V, '? e f 

CLASS O/XXc. N«. 
| COPY B. 



COPYRIGHT 

BY THE AUTHOR 

MCMI. 



TO 

MY PARENTS 

THIS LITTLE VOLUME IS MOST 

AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY 

THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 

At the beginning of the Psychic century, as 
the 20th century is called, it is fitting that a 
work dealing with the elements of Psychic Phe- 
nomena should be forthcoming. The need has 
been felt by many who like myself have been 
studying and teaching these subjects and have 
repeatedly been asked by students to refer them 
to such a work. This volume is offered to 
meet the demands for a simple, concise state- 
ment of the elements of Psychism. 

The author has made no attempt to write an 
exhaustive treatise. For several years, as a 
member and director of the Esoteric Extension 
he has led groups of students in their studies 
in this department. This book is the outcome 
of these courses of study, and is given to the 
public practically in the same form that it was 
presented to the Groups. 

In preparing the work, everything has been 
sacrificed to simplicity and plainness. No meta- 
physical discussions have been indulged in, 
although the temptation to do so was great. 
And if it does for the general reader, what his 



PREFACE. 



students say it has done for them, namely, 
simplifies and explains a rather mysterious sub- 
ject, he will be satisfied. 

The many readers of the author's work Mind 
and Body, An application of Hypnotism and 
Suggestion in Therapeutics and Education, who 
have favored him with letters enquiring about 
various Psychic Phenomena, it is thought, will 
be fully answered in the present volume. Hop- 
ing that the same generous treatment and favor- 
able reception may be accorded to this work- 
that was given to Mind and Body, the author 
intrusts it to the hands of his readers. 

A. C. H. 

No. 3217 Wabash Avenue, Chicago. 

January, 1901. 



CHAPTER I. 
PSYCHISM. 

Psychism an unexplored country — The Psychic — The 
way he is developed — The power of Suggestion — 
Psychic Healing — Thought Transference — Clear 
seeing and hearing — Soul measurement — Sleep and 
Dreams — Somnambulism and Trances — Is there a 
future life? — Psychism a study of man's inner life. 

CHAPTER II. 
THE PSYCHIC. 

Man the highest product of evolution — A physical and 
mental being — The Psychic described — The defini- 
tion of mind — The duality of the mind — The Psychic 
defined — He functions at will on the subconscious 
plane — The Psychic not a new creation — A classi- 
fication of Psychics — Modern Psychics — The His- 
tory of the Psychic — The extreme estimates of the 
Psychic — The personalities of the Psychic — The 
Psychic a marked character — The Psychic not 
wholly objectionable — He aims high — The Yogi as 
an example — Jesus a better example. 

CHAPTER III. 
PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT. 

The Psychic is a development — Exercise is the condi- 
tion of all development — There is no best method — 
Many methods have been used — The ancient meth- 
ods — An ancient method quoted — Modern methods 
are modifications of the old — Sitting in the Silence — 
The power of silence — The breathing exercises — A 
caution — Suggestion is a means of soul-culture — 
The use of Hypno-Suggestion — Ascetic austerities in 
development — The Japanese ascetic — The Yogi — All 
should understand Psychic development. 



viii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

SUGGESTION. 

Ideas are contagious — Suggestibility constitutional — 
Two laws of mind — Suggestion defined — Sugges- 
tion in the waking state — The idea of free will 
must be modified — The power of Suggestion — The 
school boy — The student of music — Suggestion as a 
cure — A case — Hypno-Suggestion — Hypnotism de- 
fined — Hypnotic versus waking Suggestion — Hyp- 
notism as a Cure — Illustrative cases — Suggestion in 
Psychiatry — Autosuggestion — The manner of self- 
suggestion — Its value — A living monument of Auto- 
suggestion — Illustrative cases — The limitation of 
Autosuggestions — Suggestion in subconscious con- 
ditions — The cases selected for illustration. 

CHAPTER V. 

THE RATIONAL OF PSYCHOPATHY. 

The importance of the subject — The existence of a 
Psychic power — Mental medicine — A half dozen 
systems of the same — An underlying law common 
to all — A question of Psychology — The duality of 
mind explained — Proofs of double consciousness — 
Illustrative cases — The amenability of the mind to 
suggestion — Manner of increasing suggestibility — 
The subconscious mind suggestible — Subconscious 
mind controls the bodily functions — Power of the 
mind over the body — The law of Suggestion the law 
of cure — An illustration of the same — Absent treat- 
ments — The value of faith — Necessary conclusions. 

CHAPTER VI. 

TELEPATHY. 

Telepathy a central factor in Psychic Research — 
Thoughts are mental creations — Telepathy defined — 
Telepathy in the waking state — Thought-Trans- 
ference a common experience — It was known in an- 



CONTENTS. 



cient times — Rapport facilitates its operation — A 
well known author's experience — Unintentional 
plagiarism — A Telepathic experiment with cards — 
The theory of absent treatment — Telepathy easy to 
study — Telepathy in natural sleep — It usually 
occurs in dreams — Sees a brother murdered — Ex- 
periments — A Telepathic phantasm — Telepathy in 
Hypnosis — Hypnotism a great aid to its study — A 
case of mind lcaamg — The notes of an evening's 
experimentation — Delayed perception — The Profes- 
sor's opinion — Telepathie a trois. 

CHAPTER VII. 

CLAIRVOYANCE AND CLAIRAUDIENCE. 

Clairvoyance and Clairaudience real facts — The avenues 
which lead to the mind — Sense perceptions depend- 
ent upon the mind — The seen and the unseen relative 
terms — The impenetrability of matter and the X- 
ray — Clairvoyance and Clairaudience in con- 
scious states — The phenomena intimately related 
with Telepathy — Natural and developed power — The 
Author's experience — A Clairvoyant reading veri- 
fied — Clairvoyance and Clairaudience in the 
subconscious state — Intentional and unintentional 
experiences — The subconscious states — Experiments 
with hypnotized subjects — A young man sent to 
Cuba — A young lady sent home — A trip to South 
Africa — Describes a Battle — She tells the time — 
Conclusion. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

PSYCHOMETRY. 

The intimate relationship between supersensuous facul- 
ties — Definition of Psychometry — Mysterious consti- 
tution of nature — Dr. Brewster quoted — "The book 
of nature" — History of Psychometry — The Psy- 
chometrist's development — Psychometry in the 
waking ^ state — Its application — A Mineral Psy- 
chometrist — Psychometry in Medicine — An experi- 



CONTENTS. 



ment with a piece of wood from the Mount of 
Olives — Psychometry deals only with the past — 
Some unscrupulous Psychometrists — Psychometry 
in Hypnosis — The states compared — Experiment 
with a souvenir from Niagara Falls — The Hypnotic 
visits the falls — The Psychic atmosphere of coun- 
tries — America's position — Psychometry needs care- 
ful study to place it upon its proper footing. 

CHAPTER IX. 
SLEEP AND DREAMS. 

The importance of the subject — Sleep and Dreams com- 
mon to man and animals — The cause of errors — 
Sleep — "Nature's sweet restorer" — Definitions — 
Physiology versus Psychology in sleep — Sleep a 
subconscious condition — An experiment showing 
the relation of Sleep to Hypnosis — The key to the 
Phenomena of Sleep — Dreams — The ancient concep- 
tion of Dreams — The "stuff that Dreams are made 
of"-*-Dreams defined — The causation of Dreams — 
Physiologic Causes — Psychologic causes — An An- 
cient illustration — A Suggested Dream — Telepathic 
Dreams — A Clairvoyant Dream — The influence of a 
room or place — The meaning and value of Dreams — 
The study of Dreams. 

CHAPTER X. 

SOMNAMBULISM AND TRANCES. 

The Subconscious States— The Eastern classifications 
of them — Somnambulism — It belongs to the phe- 
nomena of Sleep — Definition — Natural Somnam- 
bulism — Two examples of Sleep-walking — Professor 
McClure's opinion — Morbid Somnambulism — The 
case of a French lady — Artificial Somnambulism 
— Hypnotic experiments — The power of divination — 
Amnesia — Trances — Kinds of Trances — Definition 



CONTENTS. 



— Spontaneous Trances — "Wrapped into visions" 
— Autotrances — They are self-induced and self- 
limited — The profound Trances of the Yogis — 
Harides test — Trances and Theosophy — The Eng- 
lish Teacher — Induced Trances — Suggestion in 
Trances — The unreliability of Trance revelations — 
Spiritistic Trances — Mediums hypnotized by Spirits 
— Does the soul leave the body? 

CHAPTER XL 

SPIRITISM. 

The interest in the subject — Spiritism defined — Its re- 
lation to immortality — The phenomena — A list of 
the same — Fraudulent Phenomena — Genuine Phe- 
nomena — The means of the productions — The 
Medium — Kinds of Mediums — All Mediums Psy- 
chics — Going under control — The manner of their 
production — The Seances — "Fortune Telling" — 
The Spiritistic circle — Slate writing — The messages 
— Levitations— Materializations — Explanations of 
the production — Spiritists' theory discarded — Hal- 
lucination and Telepathy — This theory insufficient in 
some instances — Indian fakirs — The mind creation 
theory — "Thoughts are things" — Psychics can pro- 
duce phantasms — Witchcraft — Some conclusions. 

CHAPTER XII. 

THE FUTURE OF PSYCHISM. 

A forecast of Psychism — Some problems to be solved— 
The Psychic's character must be exalted — ■Psychism 
must prepare the way for the development of such a 
character — No Psychic influence without its power 
for good or ill — The study of the future will be the 
study of the forces within man — "Do coming events 
cast their shadows before them?" — "If a man die 
shall he live again?" — Our banner bears the motto 
Psychism. 

Appendix 213-228 



CHAPTER I. 
PSYCHISM. 

Psychism an unexplored country — The Psychic — The 
way he is developed — The power of Suggestion- 
Psychic Healing — Thought Transference — Clear 
seeing and hearing — Soul measurement — Sleep and 
Dreams — Somnambulism and Trances — Is there a 
future life? — Psychism a study of man's inner life. 



Psychism is still largely an unexplored 
country supposed to be peopled by all sorts of 
mysterious dangers and promising prospects. 
To be sure, excursions have been made into its 
unknown regions by venturesome explorers; \j 

some have returned with the report that the 
country is uninviting, full of dangers, and that 
the Anakim possess the land and have advised to 
avoid it; others have brought back the report 
that it is a beautiful land, most desirable and 
flowing with milk and honey, and have advised 
to go up and possess it. These reports deserve 
further consideration, and it is purposed to make 
a more careful study of the subject. 
19 



20 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



A study of Psychism includes an investiga- 
tion into the character of the people who pro- 
duce its phenomena, and a careful review of the 
wonders and works performed. The reduction 
of any subject to a scientific basis includes the 
collection of its body of facts and an investiga- 
tion of the laws and conditions governing the 
facts. Let us adopt this method in the treat- 
ment of the subject of Psychism. 

The people who produce the unusual phenom- 
ena form a most interesting body, and as we 
consider them we are led to wonder whether 
they are endowed with any unusual peculiarities, 
or have by some means developed their occult 
power. It seems that the latter supposition is 
true, namely, that they have developed by pa- 
tient, persistent practice psychical power suffi- 
cient to differentiate them from the ordinary 
people. The Psychic is the center around which 
is arranged all of the facts and phenomena of 
Psychism, therefore, he is a most important 
factor in our investigation. It is worth while to 
approach as near to him as possible and study 
him in various lights, so that we may understand 
what sort of a person he is. This is not diffi- 
cult for one who has the patience and can do 
so with an unprejudiced mind. He may be 
watched as he works, conversed with about his 



PSYCHISM. 21 



achievements, and often he will explain by what 
methods he attained to his enviable position. 
Those who will may follow him if they are 
willing to pay the price in self-sacrifice and per- 
severing practice, and duplicate his develop- 
ment. The development that one has attained is 
within the possibilities of another. 

Suggestion, Simple, Hypnotic and Auto, is a 
most important factor in the production of 
Psychic Phenomena, for it furnishes the means 
of opening the door which leads to the heart 
of Psychism. By its aid the mind may be studied 
in its most intimate operations, and by its aid 
the constitution of the mind may be revealed. 
Its artificial somnambulism and trances duplicate 
spontaneous subconscious conditions and ex- 
plain many of their mysteries that without it 
would be inscrutable. Any attempt to unravel 
the wonders of Psychism without its aid must 
almost certainly fail, but we have and may use 
it ; let us do so conscientiously. 

This is illustrated in Psychism, in no connec- 
tion better than in Psychic Healing. Psychopa- 
is a young science, but it has already abundantly 
proven its worth. Many persons who were 
suffering from so called incurable mala'dies are 
indebted to it for their present state of health. 
There are many different schools of Psycho- 



22 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



curative systems, all of which might be classified 
under the title Mental Medicine. The theories 
of their curative action vary almost infinitely, 
but surely the mind cannot have so many dif- 
ferent modes of cure. Is it not possible to unify 
these under one all-embracing law of mind? 
There is as much need of unity here as there is 
in religion. Let us hope that a solution of these 
problems may soon appear. That man's mind, 
or soul if you will, with its powers and destinies, 
may soon be more fully understood. 

That the mind has other modes of communi- 
cation besides those depending upon the special 
and general senses no longer admits of a reason- 
able doubt. Thoughts speed from soul to soul 
across wide distances of space independently of 
sense connections. Telepathy is a fact. The 
senses are not the only avenues that lead to the 
soul ; many other windows exist if only they are 
unbarred and opened. Open the windows of 
your soul and let in the whole truth ! The win- 
dow of one narrow creed is too meager to 
satisfy the longings, aspirations and hopes of the 
human soul. 

The mind can look far away and see without 
the use of the physical sight. The mind can 
catch far distant sounds, without the aid of the 
physical hearing. The beauties, pleasures and 



PSYCHISM. 23 



knowledge of the world are not kept from the 
mind though separated from it by many leagues 
of space. Friend sees friend across distances of 
thousands of miles, looking into the dear face 
with loving felicitude, and hearing the sweet, 
fond voice speaking words of comfort and cheer. 
Is it too much to hope that the time may come 
when these things may be done not occasionally 
by the few, but frequently by the many ? I think 
not. What man has done man may do, and it 
seems that all men have been endowed with 
faculties sufficient for these things. 

Things as well as persons, it is said, speak to 
the receptive mind. A bit of stone, wood or 
cloth will tell its history to him who has faculties 
keen enough to receive the message. A lock of 
hair or a garment is sufficient material for the* 
Psychometrist to tell the whole history of the 
person who wore it. To such a person the walls 
of a room reveal the secrets known to none but 
those who took part in them. All pronounce 
this development wonderful. Surely man is 
wonderfully and fearfully made — mentally. How 
fine are his perceptions when properly devel- 
oped! 

Sleep may serve not only as a period of rest, 
but also serve as an opportunity to aid others. 
We may lie down to sleep, to recuperate our 



24 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



own bodily forces, and at the same time lie down 
to send helpful messages, encouraging and cura- 
tive thoughts to persons who may be in need of 
them, though separated from them by many 
miles. Also, we may receive help from others. 
While we sleep they may send us the same 
helpful thoughts that it is possible for us to 
send to them. Not only is this true, but it is 
possible to do it in such a way that we may be 
conscious of the exchange of friendly thoughts 
or messages. One may waken in the morning 
to find that he has a message from a far distant 
friend or loved one brought not by post, but by a 
far speedier carrier, one that speeds with the 
wings of thought. 

Somnambulists and Trance Mediums, when in 
that subliminal condition become the receivers of 
the thoughts of the world. Having put aside for 
the time being the grosser sensibilities of the 
mind, they are able to catch the subtle waves of 
thoughts that come from various sources and 
directions that are constantly knocking at the 
door of the subconsciousness during their wak- 
ing hours, but the gentle knocking is rarely no- 
ticed during the ordinary conscious state. The 
information and messages brought back from 
these states of subconsciousness are often misun- 
derstood and misinterpreted, but they are none 



PSYCHISM. 



the less important, and it behooves us to find 
some method by which a proper understanding 
and true interpretation of them may be made. 
He who does this will render mankind a great 
service, which will not soon be forgotten. 

The messages brought back from sleep, som- 
nambulic and trance conditions are most impor- 
tant. Their importance cannot be overstated if 
it be true, as many claim it is, that they emanate 
not only from the minds of the living, but from 
discarnate souls, who have gone on before us 
into the great unknown. It is said that these mes- 
sages answer the ancient question that has re- 
verberated and echoed down through the ages, 
namely, "If a man die, shall he live again?" How 
many of us have voiced this query as with aching 
heart and tear-blinded eyes, we have stood over 
the dead bodies of our loved ones ? Is it possi- 
ble that by long search and careful investigation 
we may find the answer, to the satisfaction of the 
whole world of this momentous question? It 
may be so. It may be so, but who can foretell 
the future? 

There is no science today confronted by such 
momentous questions as those presented to 
Psychism for solution. The answers to these 
problems are demanded by an impatient, anxious 
multitude to whom the answers mean more than 



J 



26 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



life or death. How long must they wait or will 
no answer be forthcoming? The future alone 
can answer these questions, but we hope that 
Psychism will be equal to the task. 

If Psychism is made up of such facts and it is 
possible to learn the laws governing their rela- 
tionship, it is amply worth any man's while to 
study and try to understand it. In the interest 
that has been bestowed upon the physical sci- 
ences man has too much overlooked and neg- 
lected the study of his own mind. Is it not pass- 
ing strange that we should spend our time on the 
study of everything under heaven outside of self 
and almost ignore the greatest thing in the world 
— the mind? Let us not do so longer; let us re- 
deem the past. If the things that attention has 
been called to above are important and interest- 
ing, begin to study them and if no better oppor- 
tunity is available, follow the outline laid down 
in the chapters which follow. Let us first study 
the Psychic. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE PSYCHIC. 

Man the highest product of evolution — A physical and 
mental being— The Psychic described — The defini- 
tion of mind — The duality of the mind — The Psychic 
defined — He functions at will on the subconscious 
plane — The Psychic not a new creation — A classi- 
fication of Psychics — Modern Psychics — The His- 
tory of the Psychic — The extreme estimates of the 
Psychic — The personalities of the Psychic — The 
Psychic a marked character — The Psychic not 
wholly objectionable — He aims high — The Yogi as 
an example — Jesus a better example. 



Evolution has given us man as its highest 
product ; first, it gave us man with a body only 
and then after an almost infinite stride it gave 
us man with a body and a mind. Man is neither 
wholly body nor wholly mind, although there 
are some thinkers and teachers who hold and 
teach these extreme notions. The one degrades 
man to a mere animal without a soul, the other 
exalts him to a divinity equal with his maker. 
Man is neither physical nor mental only; he is 
27 



28 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



more ; he is a synthesis of both. His life is not 
lived on the low plane of the physical nor upon 
the high plane of the mental, but upon an inter- 
mediate plane where the physical and the mental 
overlap and blend. Man may vary his plane of 
living, he may cater to the body and live very 
near the physical plane, or he may cater to the 
mind and live very near the mental plane, but he 
can by no means reach either extreme. Man's 
life must ever be psycho-physical. 

Between these wide limits all human beings 
are found during their sojourn upon the earth. 
Those who approximate the plane of the body 
are said to live physical lives and those who 
approximate the plane of the mind are said to 
live psychical lives. The one turns back to the 
time when man was a savage whose whole atten- 
tion was occupied with a struggle for existence 
and he was simply a hunter for food ; the other 
forges forward toward a time when man shall 
become an enlightened being whose whole at- 
tention will be occupied with a struggle for 
knowledge and he will be chiefly a hunter for 
truth. These two classes of people are not sep- 
arated by any sharp line of demarcation — they 
are simply the extreme borders of the stream 
of human life. The one being largely 'depend- 
ent upon the physical senses, while the other 



THE PSYCHIC. 29 



has learned to depend more or less upon the 
intuitive faculties of the mind. It is among 
these last that the Psychic is found; he is a 
person who has learned to function upon the 
mental plane more or less independently of the 
physical senses. 

In order that this conception of the Psychic 
may be perfectly plain, it will be necessary to 
define mind. Mind is the subject of all of our 
conscious activities, the whole of the psychical 
being of man. By mind we mean the soul, the 
ego, the spirit, the conscious self which is self- 
active and self-existant. Mind is double in its 
nature and functions upon two planes, namely, 
the conscious and the subconscious. The con- 
scious plane is largely dependent upon the 
senses and may be characterized as sensorial; 
the subconscious plane or subliminal conscious- 
ness is largely dependent upon the intuition and 
the immediate perceptions and may be charac- 
terized as intuitional. These planes of con- 
sciousness will be more fully considered in an- 
other chapter. Enough has been said to call 
attention to their existence and explain their 
relation to this subject. 

The Psychic is a person who by natural en- 
dowment or mental development is able at will 
to function upon the subconscious plane more 



30 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



or less independently of the sensorial. In short 
he is able to see without the aid of the physical 
organs of sight, to hear without the physical 
organs of hearing, to communicate over wide 
distances without the aid of the physical senses, 
and in many other ways justify his right to the 
name by producing abundant psychic phenom- 
ena. Let us approach and study this interest- 
ing personage, enquiring into I. His classifica- 
tion, 2. His history and 3. His personal charac- 
teristics. 

The Psychic is not a new creation unless it 
be in name, for under various appellations he has 
figured upon the pages of history since the be- 
ginning of its record. In ancient times we 
recognize him as the Seer, the Prophet, the 
Sooth-Sayer, the Yogi, the Magician and many 
others. It is unnecessary to more than call at- 
tention to these, but there is a modern group 
t) a! it will be necessary to more exactly define. 
A complete list will not be attempted, and 
doubtless every reader will be able to add others, 
but enough will be given to indicate the con- 
ception of the modern Psychic. 

The Psychic was for some time and is still 
by some writers conceived to be a Spiritistic 
Medium. The Medium is undoubtedly a Psy- 
chic, but the Psychic is much more than a 



THE PSYCHIC. 31 



Medium. The Medium is the Psychic whb is 
said to be able to communicate with disem- 
bodied spirits and to occupy a position as inter- 
mediate between the living and the dead; he is 
the "one whose psychic force supplies the power 
the spirit uses to produce the various phenom- 
ena." 

A Clairvoyant is a Psychic who is able to see 
beyond the range or without the aid of the 
physical organs of sight; that is, he sees with 
the mind, and more often than not does so with 
his eyes closed. A Clairaudient is a Psychic 
who is able to hear beyond the range and with- 
out the aid of the physical organs of hearing; 
that is, he hears with the mind. 

The Telepathist is a Psychic who is able to 
communicate with others by the use of occult 
mind forces beyond the range of and without 
the aid of the physical senses. He sends thought 
messages across wide distances of space, thou- 
sands of miles, with none other than mind con- 
nection. 

The Somnambulist is a Psychic who in normal 
or induced sleep produces the phenomena com- 
mon to the waking state and usually has no 
memory of his somnambulistic experience after 
waking. A Hypnotic is a somnambulist who 
when hypnotized is able to produce the phe- 
nomena peculiar to hypnosis. 



32 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



The Psychometrist is a Psychic who has the 
power of divination who can tell by being near 
or in contact with a person, place, or thing, the 
past history of the subject by simply holding it 
in his hand. 

Throughout the pages of history where ref- 
erence has been made to the Psychic we every- 
where find him misunderstood and consequently 
misrepresented. Sometimes he was favorably 
received by the people as a divine messenger 
and his unusual and mysterious deeds were 
ascribed to the aid of Divine power; at other 
times the people would have none of him, be- 
lieving that he was in league with the powers 
of darkness and that his works so strange and 
weird was performed by the aid of his satanic 
majesty. In the one case the people were ready 
to worship the performer and treated him with 
the utmost consideration, showering gifts and 
benefactions upon him ; and in the other case 
they feared and shunned him and were ready 
to heap all sorts of abuse and persecutions upon 
him, even to the extent of putting him to death. 
The history of the past is repeated in the his- 
tory of the present, modified only by the degree 
of civilization. The performers of occult phe- 
nomena and psychic wonders are considered by 
many today to be especially gifted with Divine 



THE PSYCHIC. 33 



power and their works considered authentica- 
tions of a Divine mission. By others, all per- 
sons able to perform these mysterious mental 
feats are considered as workers of black magic 
and are shunned and feared, if not persecuted 
to the aforetime degree. 

The present estimates of the Psychic results 
from two causes; first, the prejudice that sur- 
rounds the phenomena, and second, the mys- 
tery with which the performer surrounds them. 
The past has given us the prejudice as its legacy, 
but the mystery with which the Psychic inten- 
tionally or otherwise has shrouded it, is by far 
the greater hinderance to a popular understand- 
ing of the subject. Many performers deck 
themselves with a mantle of mystery and pre- 
tend they have some occult power. It is time 
for them to throw off the mantle of mystery 
and to stand forth as men and women who have 
simply developed unusual mental powers. The 
mysterious is always feared. Let us make this 
subject so plain and simple that any one who 
will may understand it. 

The personalities of Psychics are peculiar; 
either the natural endowment or developmental 
exercises necessary to the practice of their cult 
renders them marked people. One is rarely 
found who is not peculiar, not to say eccentric. 



34 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



Moreover, most of them have characters in 
which there is a moral twist. This twist may 
be considered by some to be an ornament, but 
others will surely think it otherwise. Undoubt- 
edly the strain of the psychic work laid upon 
them may account for much of their moral lax- 
ity. The Psychic after a seance is more or less 
exhausted and feels the need of a stimulant 
which he too often takes, with the result that 
he not infrequently develops drug and liquor 
habits. The physical condition of Psychics is 
phenomenally bad, especially among those who 
practice many ascetic austerities. There is a 
belief more or less common among them that 
the body must be etherealized by asceticism in 
order to secure mental development. This is 
especially true of Oriental Psychics. They are 
usually pale and emaciated and might be de- 
scribed as having "a lean and hungry look," 
but their eyes, through which the soul looks, 
are generally bright. These practices will be 
more fully discussed in the next chapter. 

Notwithstanding the truth of all that has been 
said above, the Psychic is not always or wholly 
objectionable. Indeed, he has many good quali- 
ties, qualities that are thought by many to abun- 
dantly offset the questionable ones. The law 
of compensation not only demands payment for 



THE PSYCHIC. 35 



this peculiar development, but also rewards him 
for the losses he sustains by the quality of the 
power he gains. What the Psychic gains and 
the marvelous feats he is able to perform will be 
amply set forth and illustrated in the subsequent 
chapters. If Psychism is the latest and highest 
development in the evolution of the mind, it is 
worth the high price that must be paid for it. 
This it seems to be, although there are some 
who see in it only a vestigeal remnant brought 
up from a lower plane of existence. It will be 
possible to make a better judgment of this after 
our study has been completed. 

The pure life demanded of the aspirants after 
soul culture by many of the methods of devel- 
opments often bears fruit in a most beautiful 
character. Renunciations are neither infre- 
quent nor few. Selfishness, which is ' the es- 
sence of sin or error, is uncompromisingly 
stamped out. The Psychic aims high, and to 
reach the goal of his high ambition means no 
less a thing than the development of a Christ- 
like life. Great is the reward of those who at- 
tain this, for they become illuminated souls and 
attain what is known as Cosmic Consciousness. 

The Eastern Yogi would serve as an example 
of the extreme Psychic, and his powers are the 
wonder of the world. He leaves his home, fam- 



36 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



ily and friends, for a home in a cave or arbor 
in the jungles or mountains and makes kinsmen 
and friends of all living beings. His home and 
country are the wide world. His raiment is the 
cheapest that may be had, and his food the 
poorest, consisting of water and a small amount 
of rice. His occupation is to do good and to 
sit and meditate waiting for power to come to 
him, not from without, but from within. The 
Yogi's life is so simple, sincere and self-sacri- 
ficing that it is no wonder that the common 
people of his country give him the title of "the 
holy man." However, he does not meet our 
idea of holiness, for while we admire his phys- 
ical control, psychic power and wisdom, we 
deprecate his improvidence and selfishness. He 
should come forth from his seclusion and teach 
what he has learned at so great cost, instead 
of wasting his life in solitude. He comes under 
the same condemnation that the Christian 
ascetic and hermit do who think only of 
escaping the evils of the world and not correct- 
ing them. One had, appreciated and used the 
powers and knowledge of an ideal Psychic, and 
he went about doing good and teaching. His 
name was JESUS. 

The foregoing characterization of the Psy- 
chic, it is thought, will give the reader a fair 



THE PSYCHIC. 37 



delineation of that interesting character. In 
outline it shows who and what he is, classifying 
his various departments of activity and pointing 
out his weakness and strength of character. 
The methods and means by which the Psychic 
is developed will be discussed in the next chap- 
ter. 



CHAPTER III. 

PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT. 

The Psychic is a development — Exercise is the condi- 
tion of all development — There is no best method — 
Many methods have been used — The ancient meth- 
ods — An ancient method quoted — Modern methods 
are modifications of the old — Sitting in the Silence — 
The power of silence — The breathing exercises — A 
caution — Suggestion is a means of soul-culture — 
The use of Hypno-Suggestion — Ascetic austerities in 
development— -The Japanese ascetic — The Yogi — All 
should understand Psychic development. 

The Psychic is developed, not born. What- 
ever may be true of the poet, this is true of the 
Psychic. While natural endowment may vary 
greatly in individual instances, none is so liber- 
ally endowed that he does not need further de- 
velopment. All are capable of some soul devel- 
opment, many are capable of considerable 
development and a few are capable of almost 
limitless development. The condition of all devel- 
opment is exercise, and just as the athlete must 
undergo prolonged and persevering exercise 

39 



J 



40 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



and training before he may hope to attain the 
goal of his ambition, even so must he who thirsts 
for soul-culture or psychic development pa- 
tiently persevere in the exercise of the faculties 
he wishes to increase before he may hope to 
attain any marked success. Symmetrical devel- 
opment may be slow, but it is sure to those who 
persevere. 

Many have asked, "What is the best method 
to use in psychic development?" It is safe to 
say there is no best method. Methods are 
numerous and varied; indeed, their name is 
legion; every country and every cult of the 
country have their methods. Most of them are 
more or less mysterious and misunderstood, not 
only by some of us, but by most of those who 
practiced them. Much light is thrown on some 
of these methods by modern investigators of 
Psychic Phenomena and Esotericism. As oc- 
casion offers, attention will be called to the oc- 
cult aspect of these methods. It will be impos- 
sible to even name, much less describe and ex- 
plain all of them ; only a few of the more promi- 
nent will be mentioned, and these because of 
their use or abuse. In every case it is neces- 
sary for the person who wishes to develop psy- 
chic power to choose a method suited to his 
condition and requirements. A person who 



PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT. 41 



would become a Spirit Medium would need a 
different method from the one who wished to 
develop telepathic powers, or the one who 
wished to become a Somnambulist. This will 
appear more clearly as we proceed with our 
study of the several methods to be considered 
immediately. 

The ancient methods of soul-culture are so 
similar as found described in the various an- 
cient religious writings that they may be 
grouped and studied at the same time. It is 
surprising to those who have not made a study 
of the subject to note how much the religious 
rites of ancient as well as modern times depend 
upon Psychic Development. This is significant, 
as will appear as we proceed. The Brahmin 
Yogi, the Buddhist Samana, the Egyptian and 
Japanese Priests all use similar methods for 
their development. Specific directions are found 
in the Vedas and other sacred books for the 
Yogi to follow, by which he may become an 
Adept. In the Sixth Chapter of the Bhaga vad 
Gita the following directions are found: 

"Having placed in a clean spot one's seat, 
firm, not very high nor very low, and formed 
of skins of animals placed upon cloth, and Kuca 
grass upon that. Sitting on that seat, strive 
for meditation, for the purification^ of the heart, 



42 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



making the mind one pointed, and reducing to 
rest the action of the thinking principle as well 
as that of the senses and organs. Hording the 
body, neck and head straight and unmoved, per- 
fectly determined, and as if beholding the end 
of the nose, and not looking in any direction, 
with heart in supreme peace, devoid of fear, 
fixed in the Brahmacharis vow, with thought 
controlled and heart in me as the supreme goal, 
he remains. Thus always tranquilizing the 
heart in the Supreme, the sage, with thought 
controlled, attains the supreme rest in Nirvana 
that is my essence." 

The Samana follows a similar course. Those 
who have read the life of Buddha will recall the 
manner of his sitting in the silence under the 
Bo Tree and meditating. Likewise the Egyp- 
tian Priests by prolonged meditation and trance 
experiences attained to their adeptship. The 
Japanese Priests, both Shinto and Buddhist, 
reach a similar development by a somewhat dif- 
ferent method. However, in fact they are not 
wide apart. They have schools in which they 
teach their children how to become possessed 
by the gods, incarnated, and a large part of the 
nation are able to thus become temporary gods 
by possession. It will be plainly seen, from 
what has been said, that all of these religious 



PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT. 43 



Psychics depend upon trance conditions. The 
end of their developments, by whatever method 
they reach it, is the trance. To fall into the 
trance at will and in that condition perform their 
wonders or obtain their information is the sum- 
mit of their ambition. 

The methods of the ancients has served for 
the guidance of all ages that have followed. 
The principle is always the same, however varied 
the methods may be. It always depends upon 
the control of the mind. This is not always a 
conscious control for the phenomena of Psy- 
chism depends upon the subliminal powers 
which are usually below the floor of ordinary 
consciousness. Briefly the more common mod- 
ern methods of Psychic Development will now 
be sketched. 

Sitting in the silence is the most common, 
as it is the most fruitful, method of soul devel- 
opment. It is copied after the ancient Yogi 
method described in the quotation above. The 
character of the sittings is considerably varied, 
and so the results obtained differ widely. With 
some it is simply a silent meditation where the 
mind is made passive, the sensibilities so far as 
is possible set aside, and the mind made recep- 
tive to thought impressions. By patient prac- 
tice of this method the mind becomes increas- 



44 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



ingly sensitive to thought vibrations. Some- 
times the impressions received are visual, that 
is Clairvoyance is developed ; at other times they 
are auditory, that is Clairaudience is developed ; 
but more often the impressions do not take on 
the form of visions or sounds, but are simply 
thought messages, that is Thought Transfer- 
ence or Telepathy is developed. The character 
of the development is influenced by the desire 
of the sitter ; this is especially true of those who 
fall into trances. The persons sitting to develop 
mediumship are likely to obtain phenomena 
peculiar to mediums, such as hearing voices or 
seeing thought forms, because such results are 
expected. 

Those sitting in the silence with strained at- 
tention instead of passivity of mind obtain quite 
different results. Some concentrate their atten- 
tion upon a thought, an imaginary point in space 
or upon the end of the nose, with the result 
that they sooner or later lose consciousness 
and fall into more or less profound trances". 
These are autohypnotic trances. This form of 
sitting in the silence should be indulged in with 
extreme caution, for it endangers the sitter's 
sanity. Not a few have gone from these sit- 
tings to asylums for the insane. When com- 
bined with this form of sitting in the silence the 



PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT. 45 



person reduces his physical vigor by asceticism, 
the danger is still greater. 

The power of silence is rarely fully appre- 
ciated. However, sitting in the silence with 
passive receptive mind could hardly be danger- 
ous. There is a society whose members sit 
daily in the silence during the noon hour. They 
all hold the same thought in mind, but do not 
concentrate the attention upon it for the pur- 
pose of inducing hypnosis or self-entrancement. 
Members of this society have assured me that 
they have received great benefits from this prac- 
tice. 

Another, one of the best modes of sitting in 
the silence, is that one which has for its aim 
complete self-control and receptivity. The sit- 
ter having gone into retirement in a quiet place, 
seats himself comfortably, relaxes himself body 
and mind and then proceeds as follows : Recall- 
ing all conscious efforts and thoughts by an ef- 
fort of will, he gathers them into the innermost 
recesses of his mind and forces them to rest. He 
repeats this voluntary recall and control of the 
activities of his mind, saying mentally to him- 
self as he does so, "will" and "still." As he 
voluntarily gathers in his thoughts he says 
"will," and as he quiets them he says "still." 
After continuing this for a little while his mind 



46 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



becomes composed; then he discontinues the 
effort and commands, allowing his mind to re- 
main quiet and receptive. Patient practice of 
this method will not fail of good results. 

A word of caution should be given against 
any method that renders the mind incompetent 
to judge of and to intelligently accept or reject 
anything that comes to it in these silent sittings. 
Conditions of mind varying from passive in- 
activity to subliminal states are included in this 
caution. It is possible for one to develop a 
receptivity of mind in which none of the facul- 
ties that guard the integrity of the character is 
off duty, but this is not a state of partial or 
complete subconsciousness. The reason for 
this caution is that persons in the state of mind 
described are liable to be influenced by all sorts 
of thoughts intentional or unintentional from 
persons present or absent. 

The breathing exercises furnish another 
method for psychic control of no small impor- 
tance. There are a considerable number of 
these exercises scattered through the literature 
on this subject, but they consist of modifications 
of three principal exercises. These three exer- 
cises only need be mentioned in this connection. 

The first exercise consists of a simple rhyth- 



PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT. 47 



mical breathing in which the inspiration is deep 
and the expiration is somewhat prolonged. Be- 
ginning with inspiration four seconds and ex- 
piration eight seconds, and then very gradually 
lengthening the time. This exercise will soon 
lower the number of respirations per minute 
and give a better tone to the whole organism, 
and should be practiced under the same favor- 
able conditions that are observed for silent sit- 
tings. In the East those who practice these ex- 
ercises usually repeat some sacred word, as 
Aum, which gives them a religious character. 

The second exercise consists of a similar deep 
respiration in the midst of which there is a re- 
tention of the breath. A deep inspiration is 
followed by a retention of the breath before the 
prolonged expiration. The rhythm should be as 
follows: Inspiration four seconds, retention of 
the breath sixteen seconds, expiration eight sec- 
onds ; the time to be very slowly extended as in 
the first exercise. This exercise is very stimu- 
lating and must be practiced with caution, as 
soon as a slight dizziness is felt it should be 
discontinued for the time being. 

The third exercise consists of a respiratory 
rhythm similar to the second, with the differ- 
ence that the breath is held out instead of in. 
The deep inspiration is followed by a prolonged 



48 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



expiration, after which the air is held out of 

the lungs. The rhythm should be inspiration 
four seconds, expiration eight seconds, exclu- 
sion of air sixteen seconds. This last exercise 
is found to be the most difficult for Westerners, 
and should be practiced with extreme caution, 
as the exclusion of the air from the lungs favors 
the accumulation of carbonic acid gas in the 
blood. A slight dizziness should be taken as a 
warning that the exercise has been continued 
long enough. Some practice these exercises 
with a nasal modification, controlling the nostrils 
with the thumb and forefinger, inspiring through 
the left nostril, with the right one closed, keep- 
ing both closed during the rest and expiring 
through the right nostril. However, no advan- 
tage is obtained in the use of this modification. 

The Hindus from whom these exercises have 
come have furnished a fanciful explanation of 
their modus operandi, but their explanation 
would be out of place here. Let it suffice to say 
that the exercises are very stimulating and en- 
able the practicers to perform many wonderful 
feats. They develop a muscular and psychic 
control difficult to obtain in any other manner 

It will be observed that these breathing exer- 
cises primarily influence the muscular control, 
but at the same time they develop an electro- 



PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT. 49 



vital force which may be directed to any part 
or even outside of the body. If while exercis- 
ing one directs the attention to any one part 
of the body, that part almost immediately is 
filled with warmth and vital force. This ob- 
servation will be followed by the knowledge 
that not only physical but mental control 
may be obtained especially by the third exercise. 
The practice in order to be thoroughly effica- 
cious should be continued for a number of 
months, but even a brief practice will not be 
barren of results. 

The extreme potency of the breathing exer- 
cises is shown most plainly in the Yogis, who 
are able to simulate death. Authentic cases are 
on record in which Yogis were able to be buried 
for weeks and even months and afterwards be 
resuscitated. These cases, if they do no more, 
plainly illustrate the almost unlimited control 
that may be had over the bodily and mental 
functions. 

Before leaving this subject let me repeat my 
warning not to practice these exercises too often 
or too long; twice a day is often enough. The 
morning and evening hours, before eating and 
before bedtime, are preferable. A very few 
minutes at first will be long enough; the time 
may be gradually increased, but even a slight 



50 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISH- 



dizziness will be an indication that the practice 
has continued long enough. 

Suggestion furnishes a means for soul-culture 
of considerable importance to the Psychic. In- 
deed, Autosuggestion enters more or less prom- 
inently into all of the methods mentioned, but 
Hypno-Suggestion is referred to here. Only a 
brief reference to suggestion may be made in 
this connection, but a fuller discussion will ap- 
pear in another chapter. 

Hypnotized subjects not infrequently exhibit 
pronounced psychic powers. In cases hypno- 
tized for therapeutic purposes not a few in- 
stances have been noted where the patient ex- 
hibited supernormal powers of perception. 
Telepathy, Clairvoyance, Clairaudience and 
Psychometry have all been manifested. Two 
methods have been used to develop these facul- 
ties — i. Direct Suggestion during hypnosis, 
and 2. Posthypnotic Suggestion. 

The direct suggestion that the subject is able 
to see or hear or know things occurring at a 
distance is accepted, with the result that a re- 
port is soon forthcoming from the subject. The 
report may be a true account of the occurrences 
or it may be simply a fabrication with no basis 
in truth. If the subject is able to get the in- 
formation he will do so and report it correctly; 



PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT. 51 



if not, he will draw upon his imagination for his 
report. Any phenomena produced through 
hypnotized subjects should be carefully verified 
before accepting them as genuine for the rea- 
son just mentioned. It is my experience that 
many undoubted phenomena may be obtained, 
but not a few will be the result of pure imag- 
ination. Subjects dominated by the suggestion 
that they can obtain the information desired 
will report to the best of their ability — true if 
possible, false if necessary. This is a common 
phenomenon in hypnosis. 

Posthypnotic Suggestion operates in quite a 
different way. Suggestions are given to a hyp- 
notized subject to the effect that he will be able 
to develop psychic powers, that he will be able 
to control his mind in such a way that he will 
be able to disregard ordinary sense perceptions 
and obtain knowledge by immediate perception 
or intuition. These suggestions have a post- 
hypnotic effect, enabling the subject to speedily 
acquire psychic control. They act by inspiring 
confidence in the person's mind and stimulating 
effort and practice. There is no doubt that 
much of the psychic power depends upon the 
expectant attention. He that hath ears to hear 
may hear, he that hath eyes to see may see, he 
that hath a mind to understand may know — for 
we hear and see and know with the mind. 



52 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



The influence of autosuggestion is well shown 
in the incarnation trances of the Japanese. A 
large proportion of that people, both male and 
female, practice what is known as the posses- 
sion trance. On various occasions and for 
many purposes they become possessed of one 
or other of their gods. The divine possession, 
upon careful investigation, proves to be none 
other than an autohypnosis, in which a sugges- 
tion has been given that the hypnotee has be- 
come the dwelling and mouthpiece of a god. 
The practice of autohypnotization is begun in 
childhood and continued through adult life. 
j Schools for this purpose are conducted under 
. the direction of the priests, in which the children 
! perform all sorts of antics. A boy will be called 
I out of a class by the priest and he will seat him- 
self upon a little mat, and closing his eyes will 
proceed to fall into a state of autohypnosis. At 
this point a wand is placed into his hand, 
through which the god comes to take possession 
of his body. The arrival of the god is an- 
nounced by a shaking of the wand, followed 
by a more or less convulsive spasm of the body. 
The boy is now possessed, and immediately acts 
like one possessed. He springs to his feet, 
throws the wand violently away and proceeds 
to perform all manner of acrobatic feats. 



PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT. 53 



What is true of the child is true of the adult 
the god incarnates in him in just the same way, 
except that a little more decorum is preserved. 
When the god has arrived he may be consulted 
by the proper person, and he will speak his an- 
swers with the lips of the possessed. It is plain 
without an extended discussion or explanation 
that the divinity in these cases is none other 
than the subliminal self. It would be interest- 
ing to give more details, but space will not per- 
mit. 

The ascetic austerities practiced in connection 
with the various methods of psychic develop- 
ments are well known, but their importance de- 
serves a brief discussion. Most of the ancient 
directions for soul-culture insist upon the ob- 
servance of these austerities. All meats were 
eliminated, and the diet limited to one of the 
plainest and simplest sort, and in many cases 
the renunciation of all society and the adoption 
of a solitary life were insisted upon. These re- 
quirements were doubtless based upon the 
knowledge that some sorts of psychic phenom- 
ena were more easily developed when the phys- 
ical man was reduced to a low state of vitality. 
Doubtless weak, hungry persons can more read- 
ily fall into trances and see visions and dream 
dreams, but the reliabilities of these visions and 
dreams is not so certain. 



54 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



Perhaps no better example of these* ascetic 
austerities can be given than the present prac- 
tice of the Japanese aspirants after divine asso- 
ciations. They almost starve themselves and 
indulge in innumerable washings. An adult 
man's diet consists of water and a small bowl 
of rice once daily. His washings are more gen- 
erous ; these are taken when convenient in the 
open air under a natural waterfall, summer and 
winter alike. At sunrise he bathes, in mid- 
forenoon he bathes, at noon he bathes, in mid- 
afternoon he bathes, at sunset he bathes, before 
retiring he bathes, and at the ghastly hour of 
two in the morning he gets up from his warm 
bed and bathes. Where possible, these ablu- 
tions are taken in natural water courses or under 
waterfalls, through all the seasons of the year. 
His diet and ablutions in due time reduce him 
to the proper state of spirituality, but he con- 
tinues them far longer than a Westerner would 
dare to follow him. Thus he becomes a "holy 
man" worthy and able to become possessed of 
the gods. Any method which demands such 
practices, or similar austerities, should be 
shunned, for any psychic power that may not be 
developed by men and women in a normal state 
of health would better be left undeveloped. 

It would be interesting to review many other 



PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT. S5 



methods used for psychic development, but 
space forbids. It is plain from the methods 
mentioned above that the road the Psychic must 
travel to reach the goal of his high aim is not 
strewn with roses. It is a serious undertaking 
and he who would become a Psychic worthy of 
the name must attain this end by patient, per- 
severing practice. A Yogi makes it a business 
of a lifetime. He leaves all distracting influ- 
ences behind. Home, relatives, friends and 
worldly cares are forever forsaken. His wants 
are reduced to a minimum — a cheap linen gar- 
ment, a few handfulls of rice and a supply of 
water suffice for his needs. His home is an 
arbor in a jungle or a cave in the mountains, 
where removed beyond the disturbing voices of 
his fellowmen he meditates and waits for the 
marvelous power that sooner or later comes to 
him. What he develops and obtains of power 
and wisdom exists for all who are willing to 
pay the cost in self-sacrifice and practice. All 
have more or less psychic power, and a tittle use 
will increase it. 

In many instances all that is necessary to an 
appreciation and understanding of psychic phe- 
nomena produced by others is a little experience 
of our own. It is not possible or expedient for 
all to make a special development of their psy- 



56 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



chic forces, but it is necessary and expedient 
for all to have a competent knowledge of the 
subject, and we may have one if we will use our 
perceptive faculties. In the succeeding chap- 
ters we will endeavor to substantiate this state- 
ment. Let us first turn our attention to Sug- 
gestion. 



CHAPTER IV. ' 

SUGGESTION. 

Ideas are contagious — Suggestibility constitutional — 
Two laws of mind — Suggestion defined — Sugges- 
tion in the waking state — The idea of free will 
must be modified — The power of Suggestion — The 
school boy — The student of music — Suggestion as a 
cure — A case — Hypno-Suggestion — Hypnotism de- 
fined — Hypnotic versus waking Suggestion — Hyp- 
notism as a Cure — Illustrative cases — Suggestion in 
Psychiatry — Autosuggestion — The manner of self- 
suggestion — Its value — A living monument of Auto- 
suggestion — Illustrative cases — The limitation cf 
Autosuggestions — Suggestion in subconscious con- 
ditions — The cases selected for illustration. 

Suggestion as we understand it today depends 
upon the fact that ideas are contagious. All 
persons are suggestible because they are liable 
to be infected by ideas propagated by other peo- 
ple. There are no ideas so foolish or fanciful 
that they will not be accepted by some if they are 
powerfully and persistently proclaimed; witness 
the hair-brained schemes hatched and pro- 
claimed by fanatical persons that are accepted 
57 



58 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



and fostered by practical business men who sink 
large sums of money in them. There are gold- 
bricks for the unwary farmer and gold-makers 
for the wary millionaire. There is no mind that 
is proof against infectious ideas if only it be 
exposed to the right kind. 

Suggestibility depends upon the constitution 
of the mind. There are two conditions or pecu- 
liarities of mind so common that they might be 
considered laws of the mind. I. Credulity or 
the disposition to believe things that have not or 
cannot be proven. 2. The tendency of the thing 
the mind expects to occur whether it be psycho- 
logic or physiologic in character. It will be 
necessary to briefly illustrate these two condi- 
tions. That people believe what has not been 
proven to them is not only true but necessary. 
Little progress could be made in any social or 
business relation if it was necessary to stop and 
prove every step. Men accept their religious 
faiths ready made upon the testimony of 
others. Faith is the back-bone of all business 
enterprises. All sciences are built upon hypo- 
thetical theories and beliefs. Happy is the man 
who early learns to say with one of old, "I be- 
lieve, help Thou mine unbelief." Credulity is 
the condition of expectation, if we believe we ex- 
pect certain things to follow and this expectation 



SUGGESTION. 



59 



works itself out in the development of the thing 
expected in body or mind. We expect certain 
food to make us ill and it does so ; we expect cer- 
tain conditions to cause an headache and they 
do, we expect certain remedies or treatments to 
cure us and they do. All have witnessed or have 
heard of the experiments made upon perfectly 
well persons which illustrates both of these laws 
of mind, namely, the concerted action of several 
persons who tell an unsuspecting acquaintance 
successively at brief intervals, that he is looking 
badly, that he must feel ill, that he certainly 
must be sick, and so on, with the effect that he 
speedily becomes ill. They make him believe he 
is ill and believing that he is ill he expects to fee! 
so and shortly does. This will suffice to show 
what is meant by the two conditions of mind un- 
derlying suggestibility. 

Suggestion, it is plain from what has been 
said, includes more than used to be understood 
by that term. Suggestion was formerly used to 
mean the offering of an idea to the mind with- 
out any condition of acceptance, but it is used 
here to mean the offering of an idea to the mind 
in such a way that the mind will accept it. The 
offer and the acceptance are complementary in 
filling out the idea. These general considera- 
tions lead up to a more detailed discussion of 



60 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



the subject which will be continued under three 
divisions for the sake of plainness and brevity. 
I. Suggestion in the waking state. 2. Hypno- 
suggestion. 3. Autosuggestion. 

SUGGESTION IN THE WAKING STATE. 

Suggestion is one of the most important fac- 
tors in Psychology and aids in the solution of 
many of the more mysterious and heretofore in- 
scrutable phenomena of Psychism. The sus- 
ceptibility of Psychics to Suggestion is phe- 
nomenal; the slightest hint often unintention- 
ally given will serve to give direction to the 
whole experiment. A failure to observe this 
has misled many investigators. Therefore, it 
would be almost impossible to overestimate or 
unduly emphasize its importance in Psychism. 

The idea of free will must be modified or given 
up, for it is little more than a name. What one 
does of his own free will depends largely upon 
circumstances and environment. What he thinks 
he does of his own volition is usually due to the 
influence or more properly the Suggestions of 
others. A boy or a man thrown among evil 
companions becomes like them not of his own 
free will, but of necessity. To be sure, he had 
an opportunity to choose between right and 
wrong and we condemn him because he chose 
the wrong. As a matter of fact, at the time that 



SUGGESTION. 61 



he made the choice it was morally impossible 
for him to choose other than he did, the only 
time that he could have chosen otherwise was 
before the evil Suggestions had found lodgment 
in his mind. It is and will ever remain true that 
evil associates corrupt good morals. When a 
beautiful young woman goes wrong and drags a 
once honored name through the mire, the prob- 
abilities are that she did not act upon her own 
volition, and a more or less careful inquiry would 
reveal the fact that some subtle influence or Sug- 
gestions had been insinuated into her mind be- 
fore it was possible for her to act so. The Sug- 
gestion might have come from a trusted friend 
or associate, or from some corrupting book, but 
no matter whence they came, they were con- 
tagious and being susceptible she succumbed to 
their infection. Do not say the taint was in her 
blood ; that would be absurd. The case is alto- 
gether analogous to a contagious disease. No 
matter what the condition of the person, if the 
inoculation is sufficiently large she will certainly 
succumb to the disease. 

An appreciation of the subtle and far-reaching 
power of Suggestion for both good and evil en- 
courages us to make use of it for educational 
and curative purposes. 

Its use in education is great, so great that the 



62 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



successful teacher is the one who consciously or 
unconsciously applies it. A few examples will 
serve to explain what is meant. 

A young lady teacher, an acquaintance of 
mine, told me of one of her pupils who was 
unable to learn mathematics. 

"When I chided him," she said, "for doing 
such poor work he vehemently protested that he 
could not learn numbers." 

" 'I cannot learn numbers,' he said, 'and there 
is no use trying. My grandmother was unable 
to learn mathematics and I have inherited my 
inability from her." 

"Now, what can be done in such a case?" tha 
teacher asks. 

The case illustrates the susceptibility of chil- 
dren to Suggestions and was explained some- 
what as follows: The boy had heard of his 
grandmother's deficiency and when he found 
mathematics difficult was lead by his parents, 
who believed in the orthodox theory of heredity, 
to believe he had inherited that trait from her. 
He believed he was unable to learn numbers and 
his expectation was fulfilled. The teacher was 
advised to give the boy direct Suggestions to 
counteract those unintentionally given. He was 
told that his grandmother had nothing to do 
with his learning numbers any more than she 



SUGGESTION. 63 



had with a thousand other things he had 
learned readily enough. For example, she could 
not learn to swim, but he did; she could not 
skate but he could; she could not play marbles 
but he could ; she could not turn a handspring or 
walk on her hands, but he could, and she could 
not whistle, but he could. These and similar 
Suggestions were given for several weeks to- 
gether with positive Suggestions to the effect 
that he could learn numbers and would learn to 
like them and excel in that branch of study. The 
result was as expected, the intentional Sugges- 
tions overcame the unintentional ones and the 
boy was soon making good progress in mathe- 
matics, and had no further trouble in that di- 
rection. 

The application in the study of music is often 
most helpful. I recall the case of a young girl 
twelve years of age who had in some way ac- 
quired a dislike for her work in music ; this dis- 
like grew until her practice became a hardship. 
Her mother having heard of Suggestion and be- 
lieving in its efficacy, brought the child to me to 
see if anything could be done for her. She was 
a bright, winsome girl and inclined to be friendly, 
so we soon became fast friends and she told me 
of her difficulty with music. I assured her that 
I could and would help her. I seated her in an 



64 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



easy chair and told her to close her eyes and lis- 
ten while I talked to her. Then I made Sug- 
gestions to the effect that music was beautiful 
and a most interesting study, that she did not 
really dislike it but had become prejudiced 
against it ; that she would think the matter over 
for herself and find that she had been mistaken ; 
that she would learn to love music and be fond 
of studying it and that her whole difficulty with 
music would soon disappear. Such Suggestions 
were repeated every other day for two weeks 
with the most satisfactory results. 

"Doctor, you have taught me to love music 
and I rather enjoy my practicing now, thanks to 
your help," the little lady said to me a few 
weeks later. 

Many more examples of the successful use of 
Suggestion in education might be given if space 
permitted. It is most helpful as a means of 
developing backward children. 

As a therapeutic agent Suggestion has no su- 
perior, but only a single example may "Be given. 
Observation teaches that many drugs depend 
upon the Suggestion accompanying the adminis- 
tration for their remedial effects. Attention has 
been called to the fact that persons may be made 
ill by intentional Suggestion and it might have 
been added that they are often made so by unin- 



SUGGESTION. 65 



tentional Suggestions ; it is equally true that per- 
sons who are ill may be speedily cured by Sug- 
gestions. When it is borne in mind that a large 
proportion of the sickness suffered by man is 
due to nervous shocks or other psychic causes 
it will not be so surprising that an equal propor- 
tion of man's maladies may be relieved through 
the influence of the mind. Out of a great many 
cases observed let me cite one. 

A young man, a jeweler by trade, came to me 
for relief from an aggravated condition of self- 
consciousness. For several years this condition 
had grown upon him until he was unable to go 
into society without experiencing the utmost 
confusion and embarrassment ; he could only 
stammer, blush and perspire when any one ad- 
dressed him or he attempted to address any one. 
He was assured that he could be relieved and 
that speedily. He was seated in an easy chair 
and instructed to allow himself to sink into a 
restful passive condition with eyes closed. This 
he did, and while in this receptive state Sugges- 
tions were given to him to the effect that his 
trouble was only a habit which could be easily 
broken, that he had a strong mind and would 
assert it in the matter, that he had made up his 
mind to break the habit and would readily suc- 
ceed, that he would gain a perfect self-control 



66 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



and self-possession, that he would feel perfectly 
at ease in company and have no difficulty in car- 
rying on a conversation with any one, and that 
he would go into society to prove these things. 
These and similar Suggestions were repeated to 
him several times at intervals of two or three 
days. In about two weeks the young man was 
entirely relieved of his uncomfortable condition. 

HYPNO-SUGGESTION. 

Hypno-Suggestion includes all of the Sugges- 
tions given to persons while in a state of hyp- 
nosis, or hypnotic trance. This is by far the 
most important branch of Suggestion. In order 
to understand it thoroughly a knowledge of Hyp- 
notism is necessary. Hypnotism is the means 
of inducing an artificial state of mind in which 
persons are readily susceptible to Suggestions. 
It has been said that all persons are susceptible 
to Suggestions but by Hypnotism the suggest- 
ability is increased. The methods of hypnotizing 
are various, but they all depend for their efficacy 
upon the direction of the psychic forces of the 
subject, in short, they depend upon the same 
factors as Suggestion and Hypnotism is properly 
simply a branch of that subject. A person who 
is led to believe that he can be hypnotized and 
that he is about to be hypnotized will respond to 
almost any method and promptly fall into a state 



SUGGESTION. 67 



of hypnosis. In this state of induced somnam- 
bulism he becomes more or less suggestable ac- 
cording to the depth of the trance. 

It would be interesting and instructive to give 
a detailed account of the methods of inducing 
hypnosis and a full description of the phenomena 
of that state, but space will not permit it in the 
present writing. The reader is referred to the 
writer's work entitled Mind and Body, where 
a detailed account is given of Hypno-Sugges- 
tion. 

Hypno-Suggestions do not differ in kind from 
Suggestions given in the waking state, but they 
do differ most profoundly in degree. Some 
teachers and schools hold and teach that waking 
Suggestions are all that are worthy of serious 
consideration, but these teachers and schools 
are undoubtedly wrong. As well might one 
say that the vest-pocket pistols were the only 
fire-arms worthy of consideration, leaving out 
of account the Maxim, Krupp and other power- 
ful guns. What may be and often is done by 
oft repeated and long continued Suggestions in 
the waking state may be done speedily by a sin- 
gle Suggestion given in profound hypnosis. All 
patients are not susceptible to the deeper states of 
hypnosis. It is necessary to adapt the treatment 
to the conditions found in individual cases, giv- 



68 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



ing the Suggestions in the lighter states of hyp- 
nosis or in the waking state as may be needful. 
The matter of giving the Suggestion does not 
materially differ but the Suggestions must be 
repeated more or less persistently according to 
the degree of susceptibility. A few examples 
will suffice to illustrate our contention. 

A young lady stenographer came to me not 
long ago complaining that she was not able to 
attain the requisite speed in taking notes. When 
her speed was all right her notes were not plainly 
legible, and she found it difficult to transcribe 
them. 

"Can you help me, Doctor ?" she asked. "I 
understand that you can do almost any marvel 
by Suggestion." 

"It will do no harm to try what we can do 
by the aid of Suggestion," was the reply. 

The young lady was hypnotized and passed 
into a profound state of hypnosis. Suggestions 
were given to her while in this receptive condi- 
tion to the effect that she had as nimble fingers 
as any one and could take notes just as rapidly, 
that with a little practice her speed might be 
greatly accelerated, that she would write her 
notes plainly and legibly and that she would be 
able to readily transcribe them. These Sugges- 
tions were accepted and so stimulated her mind 



SUGGESTION. 69 



that she greatly increased her speed and wrote 
her notes more rapidly and more distinctly. In 
a couple of weeks after aiding her with the speed 
she was similarly aided in her ability to concen- 
trate her attention in transcribing her notes. 
There was much noise and confusion in the of- 
fice where she was employed which tended to 
distract her attention from her work. A couple 
of Suggestions sufficed to enable her to disre- 
gard the confusion and attend to her duties and 
she has had no further trouble in taking notes 
or transcribing them. 

A few weeks ago a lady came to me saying 
that she had been advised by a mutual friend to 
come and be relieved from an annoying drug 
habit. Some years before she had been ill and 
during that illness fell into a condition of in- 
somnia and at the advice of her physician had re- 
sorted to the use of hypnotic drugs. Now for 
more than three years she had been in the habit 
of taking such drugs every night. She could 
not sleep without them. Her general health was 
good and she was assured that she could be 
speedily and permanently relieved from her drug 
habit. 

The lady when hypnotized fell into a profound 
hypnotic trance. While in this condition Sug- 
gestions were given to her to the effect that her 



70 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



health was good and natural sleep would be re- 
stored, that she had a strong mind and had re- 
solved to take no more sleeping potions, that 
she would expect to go to sleep at night when 
she went to bed and would readily do so; that 
she would sleep soundly all night and wake up 
refreshed in the morning, and that she would 
have no more difficulty in sleeping. During the 
night after the first treatment she slept soundly 
and naturally without the aid of any drug and 
was delighted with the result. 

''Doctor, it is marvelous," she exclaimed the 
next morning when she called at the appointed 
hour, "for I did not expect it ; I did not believe 
that it was possible for you to relieve me so read- 
ily and without drugs after I had tried almost 
everything that the Doctors could suggest. I 
have spent hundreds of dollars without getting 
the least permanent relief." There was no re- 
lapse ; the cure was permanent. The lady sleeps 
as peacefully as a child now and that, too, with- 
out the use of any harmful drugs. 

This spring a young man was brought to me 
by his friends from the West Side of this city, 
suffering from extreme alcoholism. It is un- 
necessary to describe his symptoms, suffice it to 
say, they were those of every confirmed ineb- 
riate, not excepting the snakes : to use his ex- 



SUGGESTION. 71 



pression, he had "seen a whole menagerie." He 
had taken the Keeley Cure at Dwight and been 
sent to the Washingtonian Home no less than 
eight times during his fourteen years of slavery 
in the toils of strong drink. Every known cure 
had been tried on him, not excepting the putting 
of dope in his food and drink, with no permanent 
results. He and his friends both said they had 
come to me as a last resort and if I failed, then 
there was nothing left for him but to sink deeper 
and deeper into a drunkard's perdition. 

When he came to me he was considerably un- 
der the influence of liquor; indeed, he had not 
been free from its influence for many months, 
but he was in as good a condition as he was 
likely to be found, so I began his treatment in 
that state. He was hypnotized and went into 
a profound hypnosis. While in this condition, 
positive Suggestions were made to him, to the 
effect that he had a strong mind and could rid 
himself of any habit if he choose to ; that he 
wanted to quit drinking and had made up his 
mind to do so ; that the appetite for drink would 
leave him and never return again; that drink 
with all its associations would be disgusting to 
him; that he would regain his self-control and 
self-respect and become a respectable man once 
more ; that he would be proud of his victory, for 



72 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



it was his own strong mind that was winning 
it for him and that his cure would be permanent. 
Similar Suggestions were repeated to him daily 
for four days and two or three times a week for 
the balance of the month. 

The results were all that could be desired. He 
did not taste liquor after the first treatment and 
soon lost his appetite for it. Almost immedi- 
ately he began to take and retain nourishment 
and gained ten pounds during the first month. 
Today liquor has no temptation for him and it 
would be difficult for him to take up the habit 
again. 

One evening a young man, a machinist, came 
to me and said that he wished I would hypnotize 
him and brace him up so that he would be able 
to resist the attempts being made to force him 
into an unwilling marriage. He went on to in- 
form me that there was an association of women 
who made it their business to provide husbands 
for unfortunate girls. 

"They have me on their list and are after me 
constantly. I find them watching me every time 
I go out and it makes me feel uncomfortable and 
afraid, for I do not wish to be forced into any 
such union." He went on and gave me the de- 
tails of an imagined persecution he was suf- 
fering from. 



SUGGESTION. ?3 



The case was recognized as an aberration of 
the mind in which he was dominated by the 
hallucination, an hallucination as indicated 
above. He was hypnotized several times and 
given Suggestions which speedily returned him 
to his normal condition of thinking, feeling and 
acting. 

Psychiatry furnishes innumerable cases sim- 
ilar to the above that may be successfully treated 
by Hypno-Suggestion. It is plain that Sugges- 
tion finds its greatest field for usefulness in the 
treatment of mental diseases and it would be in- 
teresting to multiply instances but space forbids. 
The greatest service that Psychism could render 
to humanity would be the solution of the prob- 
lems of mental pathology such as pathologic 
double and the like. 

AUTO SUGGESTION. 

Autosuggestion offers many alluring possi- 
bilities for self-culture and self-treatment. The 
Suggestions that are ordinarily given by another 
in the waking, sleeping and hypnotic states may 
be as certainly and satisfactorily given to one's 
self if one knows how to give them. The po- 
tency of all Suggestions depends upon the afore- 
mentioned belief and expectation. Suggestions 



/4 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 

from those we believe in are the most potent and 
if we can inspire such a belief or confidence in 
cur own power to give Suggestions they will as 
readily be accepted from ourselves and produce 
the same happy results. In the last analysis 
every Suggestion must be received and trans- 
formed into an Autosuggestion before it can 
reach and work out its effect in the mind. Noth- 
ing ministers more to our self-respect than the 
knowledge that we are able to develop all sorts 
of good qualities in ourselves and the proper 
understanding of Autosuggestion furnishes this 
knowledge. 

There are two principal ways of giving Sug- 
gestions, namely, one in the waking state and 
the other in the natural sleep. Direct Autosug- 
gestions made while one is awake differ in no 
particular from direct Heterosuggestions made 
in the same state except that one makes the Sug- 
gestion to himself. As Heterosuggestions are 
deepened by repetition, so are Autosuggestions 
more deeply impressed upon the mind by re- 
peating them. And it is claimed that all that 
can be accomplished with Heterosuggestions 
can be duplicated with Autosuggestion. While 
much may be accomplished by the use of Auto- 
suggestion it is doubtful if that statement is true 
up to date ; however, it may become true in the 



SUGGESTION. 75 



future. By it one can make the most of his tal- 
ents ; he can educate and develop himself ; he can 
inspire self-confidence and faith, and in short he 
can live a successful life. 

A friend of mine who is a living monument 
of the power of Autosuggestion, has told me 
of many of his experiments, and his wife has 
corroborated his statements. One evening she 
said to me: "He is not the same man that I 
married eight years ago." In a little conversa- 
tion we had last week he spoke substantially 
as follows : 

"I am sure that all I have accomplished in 
a business way has been done bySelf-Suggestion. 
I was naturally of a timid, retiring disposition, 
but I have overcome that and by Autosugges- 
tion have developed a considerable self-con- 
fidence ; so much, indeed, that some think me 
egotistic. I might give as an example of my 
method of making the Suggestions, my curing 
myself of fear of darkness. 

"I began by reasoning with myself and as- 
suring myself that there is nothing more to fear 
in the dark than in the light. I went into the 
dark to prove this to myself. I shut myself up 
in a dark room and stayed there until the feel- 
ing of fear vanished. I kept these Suggestions 
up until I lost all fear of darkness. 



76 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



"By a similar process I taught myself how 
to go to sleep at any time in any place. I can 
obtain rest and am often greatly revived by a 
few minutes' sleep plus an Autosuggestion." 

The other way to make Autosuggestions is to 
make them so that they will take effect during 
sleep. The Hypnotist speaks to his subject while 
he is in a subconscious state, but the one who 
would treat himself must speak to himself just 
before going to sleep. However, to have them ef- 
fective, they must be as confidently and positively 
given and received as Heterosuggestions. Thi§ 
can only be done after one has learned by expe- 
rience how to do it. He who would treat him- 
self should impress the desired thoughts as 
strongly as possible upon his mind just before 
going to sleep and after falling to sleep they will 
find their way into his dream-consciousness and 
work out the desired effect. This may be illus- 
trated by an instance. 

A friend and patient of mine is able to cure 
himself of the various ailments that befall him. 
Here is an example of his treatments : For 
years he suffered with severe periodical head- 
aches due to inactivity of the digestive tract, un- 
til he heard of and used "self cure" or Auto- 
suggestion. In the midst of one of his severe 
attacks he began giving himself Autosugges- 



SUGGESTION. 77 



tions which speedily and permanently relieved 
him of his malady. He used the following 
method : Before going to sleep, every night, he 
repeated several times to himself: "My trouble 
is a habit and my mind can and will cure it." He 
believed what he said to himself and a cure was 
the happy result. 

Theoretically Autosuggestion ought to be 
able to cure every ill that flesh is heir to, but up 
to date it has succeeded only in a limited num- 
ber of cases. Its failure is due no doubt to our 
lack of confidence in ourselves, when we learn to 
use our psychic forces to the full we shall be 
able to report better results. 

Suggestion deserves a more detailed discus- 
sion than it is possible to give it here ; however, 
it is thought that the above outline sketch will 
indicate its position in Psychism. Those wish- 
ing to make a more careful study of the subject 
must refer to works dealing with that subject 
exclusively. It ought to be plain to all from 
what has been said above that Suggestion occu- 
pies a most important place in Psychism. A fail- 
ure to recognize the subtle and the far-reaching 
influences of unintentional Suggestions has led 
many experimenters to most erroneous con- 
clusions. This is especially true in experiments 
with persons who go into a subconscious condi- 



78 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 

tion, all of the phenomena which they produce is 
directed and colored by either Hetero or Auto- 
suggestions sometimes they are intentional, but 
more often they are unintentionally given. 

Persons who fall into subconscious conditions 
take with them all of the materials requisite to 
the phenomena they produce. When such phe- 
nomena or the memories of them brought back 
to the waking consciousness are absurd or im- 
possible, an explanation of them will usually be 
found in some unintentional Auto or Heterosug- 
gestion. More will be said on this subject in the 
chapter on Somnambulism and Trances. 

Most of the examples used as illustrations in 
the foregoing paragraphs have been selected 
from among those whom I have had occasion to 
treat by Suggestion, not because there is any 
lack of other examples, but because they will il- 
lustrate what is to follow. In the next chapter 
the theory of various psycho-curative systems 
will be discussed and the above examples may 
aid to an understanding of their rational. 



CHAPTER V. 



RATIONAL OF PSYCHOPATHY. 



The importance of the subject— The existence of a 
Psychic power — Mental medicine — A half dozen 
systems of the same — An underlying law common 
to all — A question of Psychology — The duality of 
mind explained — Proofs of double consciousness — 
Illustrative cases — The amenability of the mind to 
suggestion — Manner of increasing suggestibility— 
The subconscious mind suggestible — Subconscious 
mind controls the bodily functions — Power of the 
mind over the body — The law of Suggestion the law 
of cure — An illustration of the same — Absent treat- 
ments — The value of faith — Necessary conclusions. 

Psychic research is making rapid progress 
and the whole world is waiting with interest for 
every item of new data, but in the whole range 
of psychologic investigation there is nothing of 
such transcendent interest to the world today as 
the relation of the mind to the cure of disease. 

That there is a psychic power within man 
which presides over the functions, sensations 
and conditions of the body, and that this power 
79 



80 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



may be directed at will, under certain conditions, 
for the relief of the manifold ills of mankind, 
there is no doubt, or need of proof. If proofs 
were needed it would suffice to call attention to 
the hundreds of "healers" and the army of those 
who have been healed, to be found upon every 
hand. These are real cures, and just as well 
authenticated as those found in the reports of 
cases cured by drug medicines. Many systems 
of cure, all producing most positive proofs of 
their efficacy, have been founded upon these 
facts, but they have as many theories of causa- 
tion and as many methods of application, as 
there are different curative systems. 

Mental Medicine is broader than any one of 
the curative systems — it is as broad as all of 
them combined — as broad as the curative action 
of the mind over the body. It is worth while 
to consider Psycho-Therapeutics. 

Psychopathic healing includes many schools, 
each subdivided into various sects, but for the 
present purpose it will be sufficient to call atten- 
tion to a half-dozen of the more prominent of 
them, namely: Christian Science, Mind Cure, 
Faith Cure, Spirit Cure, Magnetism and Hyp- 
notism. 

Christian Science, which has lately received 
a pretty thorough advertising at the hands of 



RATIONAL OF PSYCHOPATHY. 81 



Mark Twain and others, claims that the body 
is unreal, and that the mind is all; therefore 
disease has no existence except in the mind, and 
should be ignored and denied. They persuade 
many to believe this fallacy and show many 
persons who have been cured by their treat- 
ment. 

Mind Cure makes the same statement. It 
says "all diseases are conditions or states in- 
duced by abnormal conditions of the mind," and 
the advocates claim that these states and condi- 
tions of the mind, together with the diseases 
incident to them, may be and often are cor- 
rected by the power of the healer's mind. 

Faith Cure is based upon the belief that reli- 
gious faith will save man from sin ancl sickness, 
and says that belief in and prayer to God will 
secure relief from pains and the cure of diseases. 
They point to those who have been healed and 
triumphantly exclaim in the words of the Mas- 
ter, "By their fruits ye shall know them." 

Spirit Cure is founded upon the supposition 
that the shades of the departed dead can and 
do "come back from the spirit world" and 
through some "medium" give relief to the sick 
and comfort to the afflicted. And many are 
willing to testify that some "big Indian chief" 
or "little Indian squaw" or some other shade 



82 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



through a "medium" has cured them of dis- 
tressful diseases. 

Magnetism teaches that there resides in man 
a subtle fluid of healing nature which may be 
projected at the will of the operator upon an- 
other person with the effect of curing the func- 
tional and organic diseases of his body, and 
from the time of Mesmer until the present, mar- 
velous cures have been made. 

Hypnotism furnishes a power by which per- 
sons may be placed in a condition of induced 
sleep or hypnosis. While in that state it is 
claimed that they are suggestible and may be 
given suggestions that will relieve them from 
pain and cure their diseases. ' Many profess to 
owe their good health to this system of thera- 
peutics. 

The above brief summary shows that there 
are a considerable number of different systems 
of Psycho-Therapeutics based upon as many 
widely different theories, each presenting in- 
dubitable evidence of its ability to perform cures 
— many of which appear almost miraculous. 
But they acknowledge only one thing in com- 
mon, namely, that they all cure diseases. How- 
ever, it requires only a superficial study of them 
to discover that there must be a common un- 
derlying principle or law upon which they all 
operate. 



RATIONAL OF PSYCHOPATHY. 83 



Now, since all curative phenomena produced 
by psychic influence under whatever name they 
occur, must depend upon the same fundamental 
law, it is of the utmost importance that this law 
should be discovered — that we should find and 
recognize the law of Psycho-Therapeutics. It 
is plain that the law must depend upon the con- 
stitution of the mind, so we must turn to Psy- 
chology for the key to the solution. 

Fortunately Hypnotism has recently come to 
our assistance, enabling us to better understand 
the constitution and action of the mind. It has 
revealed, among other things, first, the dual 
nature of the mind, and second, the amenability 
of the mind to suggestion. Some intimations of 
these peculiarities had been observed in certain 
trance and other spontaneous conditions, but 
it remained for Hypnotism to fully establish 
them. Hypnotism is of great aid to students of 
Psychology, and its revelations will doubtless 
overthrow many of the older doctrines of the 
psychologists. 

It is thought that the two facts just men- 
tioned, namely, the duality of the mind and its 
amenability to suggestions, furnish an explana- 
tion of the principles underlying all of the 
Psycho-Curative System or the Law of Mental 
Medicine. It seems possible to justify these 
facts, as we shall now attempt to show. 



84 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



The duality of the mind is not a new idea, but 
it has recently received new emphasis. The 
separate action of the two hemispheres of the 
brain is not what is meant, although that is pos- 
sible, as is shown by the phenomena of unilateral 
hypnosis. There is a duality in the sense that 
the mind possesses two distinct sets of func- 
tions, with a double consciousness, operating 
more or less independently. This duality of the 
mind would seem to be proven if the existence 
of the dual consciousness with separate memo- 
ries can be demonstrated, namely, the primary 
or waking consciousness and the secondary or 
subconsciousness. The usual distinction made 
between them is that the first includes all knowl- 
edge obtained by the aid of the five senses and 
reason, and the second includes all knowledge 
gained through intuition and immediate percep- 
tion. 

The physiologists, Carpenter and others, rec- 
ognized two kinds of mental activity. The un- 
usual kind, not belonging properly to the con- 
scious phenomena, they called "unconscious 
cerebration" for want of a better term. These 
we now know as the subconscious phenomena of 
the mind. 

There are no unconscious activities of the 
mind, for the very essence of mind is conscious- 



RATIONAL OF PSYCHOPATHY. 85 



ness. These are subconscious, but no? uncon- 
scious phenomena. Many of the subconscious 
phenomena never rise above the floor of ordi- 
nary consciousness. 

Consciousness may be illustrated by two cir- 
cles, the smaller one within the other, both hav- 
ing a common center. The smaller circle repre- 
sents the ordinary consciousness, for the waking 
consciousness contains only a small part of our 
whole conscious activity. The subconscious- 
ness is represented by the larger circle, for it 
contains all that is in the smaller circle and 
much more that lies beyond the limit of its cir- 
cumference. 

The double aspect of the mind is observed 
also in the blending with the physical and spir- 
itual realms ; the mind, through the senses and 
reason, adjusts itself to its physical environment 
and through the intuition and immediate per- 
ception reaches its spiritual environments. 

The very latest statements of Physiology em- 
phasize this duality, although strangely enough 
many of the physiologists stick to the old ma- 
terialistic explanations. Vincent, in a chapter 
upon the "Physiology of Hypnosis," reaches the 
following conclusion : "Thus there seems to be 
in the human nervous organism a dual nervous 
action, one automatic and intuitive, the other 
rational, volitional and deliberative." 



86 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



A detailed discussion would be out of place 
here, but it can be easily shown that there is 
abundant evidence to prove that the theory of 
double consciousness is well founded. Three 
groups of phenomena are urged as proofs, 
namely, spontaneous, induced and diseased 
states of mind, in which subconscious activities 
are observed. Let us examine examples of 
each: 

In the normal states these subconscious phe- 
nomena are seen in such actions as are common 
in the so-called ''unconscious cerebrations," and 
the "automatic and nervous activities," where 
the mind performs two acts at once, as adding 
up a column of figures while carrying on a lively 
conversation. Such actions require the con- 
scious employment of two separate trains of 
memory in their performance, but we have only 
one conscious memory, hence the other must be 
subconscious. 

The phenomena of Dreams and spontaneous 
Somnambulism and Trances point in the same 
direction, for Sleep is not merely an absence of 
waking activity, but it is a phase of personality 
with distinctive characteristics. The intimate 
relationship between sleep and hypnosis will 
serve to emphasize this statement. The utter- 
ances and movements of Somnambulists prove 



RATIONAL OF PSYCHOPATHY. 87 



that they are not automata, indeed they often 
perform most complicated actions which would 
be impossible without consciousness, and yet, 
after awaking they usually have no conscious 
memory of their actions. A patient of mine, a 
young lady, was accustomed to arise and dress 
herself at night while asleep and walk about the 
house, and only knew that she had been sleep- 
walking when she awoke in the morning and 
found herself in the bed fully dressed. 

The induced subconscious states are found in 
hypnosis, and they go far to prove the duality 
of the mind. The phenomena of hypnosis have 
been given in detail by many writers, and may 
be referred to. 

Hypnotized subjects sometimes pass into an- 
other personality and deny that they have any 
relationship with their conscious selves. Some- 
times they deny any acquaintance with their 
conscious selves ; at others they admit that they 
are acquainted but deny the possibility of being 
identical with them. Indeed, they often have 
entirely different personal characteristics. A 
person dull-witted and slow in the natural state, 
sometimes becomes quick-witted and active 
when hypnotized. They have been known to 
change their names and social position under 
the domination of the belief that they are differ- 



88 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



ent individuals. In these cases the segregation 
of the mind appears to be complete. 

Some writers say that the double personality 
of hypnosis proves too much, for not two but 
several personalities may be evoked. Careful 
observation, however, shows that these appar- 
ent personalities of hypnosis, with their memo- 
ries tend to run into one, the primary hypnotic 
personality and memory, and are undoubtedly 
due to unintentional suggestions of the oper- 
ator. If we bear in mind the hyperacuteness 
of the subject, this will be readily understood. 

Many examples of pathologic double person- 
ality are on record. The Rev. Ansel Bourne 
of Greene, R. I., is a well known and typical 
example. He fell into what appeared to be a 
spontaneous hypnotic trance ; at any rate it was 
a trance in which his personality was com- 
pletely changed. As the case is an entirely 
genuine one, it will be briefly recited. 

Mr. Bourne drew some money from the Prov- 
idence bank with which to pay some bills, and 
boarded a horse car for the purpose of return- 
ing home. These were the last incidents that 
he remembered before falling into the trance. 
While entranced he made an excursion to New 
York and Philadelphia, and finally located in 
Morristown, Pa., where he opened and stocked 



RATIONAL OF PSYCHOPATHY. 89 



a small stationery and confectionery store under 
the name of A. J. Brown. He conducted his 
business in such a manner that no one sus- 
pected that he was entranced. One morning 
six weeks later he awoke in his normal person- 
ality and called to the people with whom he 
was boarding, asking them to tell him where he 
was. It seemed to him that he had only been 
asleep for a few hours. He informed them that 
he was the Rev. Ansel Bourne of Rhode Island, 
but they and the physician who was called 
thought he was insane at first ; however, a tele- 
gram from his home convinced them that he 
was sane. His nephew, Mr. Andrew Harris, 
went after and took him home, where he had 
been advertised for two months as missing. In 
his normal state he had no knowledge of nor 
would he have anything to do with his store. 

Hypnotism was used as a means to secure the 
memory of his second personality, and he readily 
told of his "Brown" existence, but while hyp- 
notized could not remember any of the events 
of his normal life. He did not recognize his 
friends and declared when Mrs. Bourne was pre- 
sented to him that he had "never seen the woman 
before/' 

It was hoped by Suggestion, etc., to run the 
two personalities into one, and make the memo- 



90 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



ries continuous, but no artifice would avail to 
accomplish this, and Mr. Bourne's skull today 
still covers two distinct personal selves. 

These classical cases have been cited because 
they carry great evidential value, coming as they 
do from such distinguished and competent ob- 
servers. The report of many similar cases are 
easily accessible, and may be studied by any 
one who wishes to investigate the subject. 

The amenability of the mind to Suggestion 
is so commonly accepted that it is only neces- 
sary to state the fact ; but a few illustrations will 
serve to emphasize it. The suggestibility of 
the mind is found in the waking state, in hyp- 
nosis, and in pathologic states. 

All persons are more or less suggestible in 
the waking state. Many interesting facts illus- 
trating its influence are familiar to all. Per- 
haps no better example could be found than the 
oft-repeated experiment of "playing a trick" on 
a person, as was described in the last chapter. 
Several persons by concerted arrangement suc- 
cessively tell an unsuspecting person that he is 
looking badly and must be sick, with the result 
that he soon becomes ill. 

While the suggestibility of the mind is con- 
siderable in the waking state, induced sleep or 
hypnosis is the suggestible state. Hypnotism 



RATIONAL OF PSYCHOPATHY. 91 



is the pass-key that admits us to the study of 
the mind, and it is through it that we have 
obtained the most positive proof of the Law of 
Suggestion. It has not only demonstrated the 
suggestibility of the mind, but has also shown 
that it is the subconscious mind that is sugges- 
tible. 

The susceptibility of the hypnotized subject 
is phenomenal and almost unlimited in certain 
directions. It has been shown that speech, 
music and signs, all have marked suggestive 
influence over our subjects. Sad music, like a 
sad story, will make them sad, and tears will 
well up into the eyes and course down the 
cheeks. Comic pictures, like humorous stories 
or lively music, will send them off into fits of 
merriment; their personalities may be changed 
by a word. Suggest that they are other per- 
sons, and they will accept and conduct them- 
selves accordingly. 

Certain diseased conditions, as hysteria, fur- 
nish further evidence of the impressionability of 
the mind, if more were needed, but it is thought 
that enough has been given to abundantly estab* 
lish the fact. 

Together with the control of the mind by 
Suggestion, another important fact appears, 
namely, the functions, sensations and states of 



92 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 

the body, are under the control of the sub- 
conscious mind. The fact that the functions, 
sensations and states of the body are beyond the 
control of the will, leads us a long way toward 
certainty that they are under subconscious con- 
trol, for they must be under the control of either 
one or the other. It would be absurd to say 
that they are not consciously controlled in the 
light of recent demonstrations. It is well 
known that the functions and sensations may be 
changed and controlled at will of the subjects 
who are in hypnotic subconscious states. Any 
one who will, can readily prove all that is stated 
here. In this induced state the voluntary and 
involuntary actions are easily controlled and the 
sensations varied as desired. 

The action of the heart may be depressed 
or accelerated and the character of the respira- 
tory rhythm altered as desired. The temperature 
of the body may be increased or lowered. The 
functional activities of the liver, kidneys, stom- 
ach, intestines and the other organs may be 
affected at will. In short, not only functional, 
but organic diseases may be produced by Hyp- 
notic Suggestion. The power of the mind over 
the body is in keeping with its growth and de- 
velopment, for every cell in the complex fabric 
is placed and controlled by mind processes ; 



RATIONAL OF PSYCHOPATHY. 93 



therefore, it is not surprising that organic 
changes have been, and may be produced by 
Suggestion. 

Therefore, since the functions, sensations and 
conditions of the body are controlled by the 
subconscious mind, and the subconscious mind 
is controlled by Suggestion, it is plain that the 
derangements of these bodily functions and 
states may be corrected by Suggestion. 

We are now prepared to understand the way 
in which cures are effected by Suggestion, and 
are not surprised to find that Suggestion is the 
principle underlying Psychic-Healing. It is easy 
to show that all cures effected by the various 
systems of Mental Medicine must find their ex- 
planation in this Law of Suggestion. A law 
must be universal in its operation, and the Law 
of Suggestion seems to be broad enough to 
cover and explain all of the cures resulting from 
the various psychologic systems. 

This is the way Suggestion operates: A re- 
ceptive state of mind is induced in the patient — 
the Suggestion is given that he will soon be well 
—he believes that he is about to be cured, and 
his mind determines the result and he is cured. 
It is plain that it is faith or belief that is the 
connecting link that completes the circuit of 
curative powers. There is a law which appears 



94 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



to be almost without exception, namely, that 
what a person expects is likely to appear in 
him, whether it be physiologic or psychologic 
in character. 

This is the way the various cures operate: 
A man who has been ill for a long time becomes 
dissatisfied with the treatment of his attending 
physician, in whose hands he has possibly suf- 
fered many things, and dismisses him. He 
hears of a "healer" and decides to consult him. 
The "healer" explains his system and assures 
the patient that he can cure him. The patient 
is convinced — pays the fees — and passively sub- 
mits to the treatment. The result is prompt — 
he feels better after the first application of the 
treatment and soon fully secures his health. 
Now this is what has happened in this case, 
namely, he believed, he became passive, he re- 
ceived curative Suggestions and his mind deter- 
mined the result. All of these cases may be 
shown to be simply suggestive treatment. They 
do not result from any merit in the "cure/' but 
from the belief in it. In like manner belief is 
the key-note in all of the Psycho-Curative Sys- 
tems, for it furnishes the opportunity to make 
the curative Suggestions. 

Absent Treatments, even when they are not 
influenced by the expectation of the patient, are 



RATIONAL OF PSYCHOPATHY. 95 



not exceptions to this Law of Cure. The cura- 
tive influence in these cases must be due to 
telepathic communication, whereby the Sugges- 
tions are given and the results obtained. The 
fact that the belief and expectation are sub- 
conscious is an advantage, because it is through 
the subconscious mind that cures are effected. 
Likewise in children, the amenability to Sug- 
gestion is pronounced, and begins much earlier 
in their lives than most people are aware. The 
subconscious mind is present from the begin- 
ning. 

The Great Physician used to say, "According 
to your faith be it unto you," and "Thy faith 
hath made thee whole," and again, "He could 
do no mighty works (healing) because of their 
unbelief.' , 

Paracelsus recognized the same law when Re 
said : 

"It is faith which gives power — unbelief is a 
destroyer. Whether the object of your faith be 
real or false, you will nevertheless obtain the 
same effects. Faith produces miracles, and 
whether it is true or false faith it will always 
produce the same wonders." 

These statements and many others like them 
from recent writers explain how it happens that 
systems with such widelv differing: doctrines and 



96 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



methods have all secured such marvelous re- 
sults. They have succeeded in winning the con- 
fidence and inspiring faith in their followers and 
in giving the Suggestions which have determined 
the mind in producing the cures. 

It seems plain that the conditions and pro- 
cesses of all Psychopathic Healing are essen- 
tially the same. The conditions are states of 
receptivity or suggestibility, and the processes 
are the making of the needful curative Sugges- 
tions to the patients. That these conditions 
and processes have been induced and given un- 
wittingly is rather confirmatory than otherwise 
of the universality of the Law of Suggestion. 
The Law of Mental Healing will be progressively 
more appreciated as it is better understood and 
more used. 



CHAPTER VI. 
TELEPATHY. 

Telepathy a central factor in Psychic Research — 
Thoughts are mental creations — Telepathy defined — 
Telepathy in the waking state — Thought-Trans- 
ference a common experience — It was known in an- 
cient times — Rapport facilitates its operation — A 
well known author's experience — Unintentional 
plagiarism — A Telepathic experiment with cards — 
The theory of absent treatment — Telepathy easy to 
study — Telepathy in natural sleep — It usually 
occurs in dreams — Sees a brother murdered — Ex- 
periments — A Telepathic phantasm — Telepathy in 
Hypnosis — Hypnotism a great aid to its study — A 
case of mind reading — The notes of an evenings 
experimentation — Delayed perception — The Profes- 
sor's opinion — Telepathie a trois. 

The importance of this subject cannot be 
overstated, for it is the central factor in Psychic 
Research. Wireless telegraphy is no more a fact 
than Mental Telegraphy, although it appears 
just now that wireless telegraphy will be sooner 
understood and sooner reduced to practical use 
than Mental Telegraphy; but later the reverse 
97 



98 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



may be true, for many of our best students of 
Psychology are experimenting along these lines. 
Telepathy depends upon the fact that 
thoughts are mental creations which are carried 
by a subtle ether across wide distances from 
mind to mind. Thought waves are similar to 
those set up by heat, electricity and light. 
Thoughts are not impalpable creations, lost as 
soon as created, but they are things sent out 
to be felt and known by all who are sensitive 
enough to receive them. The world is a whis- 
pering gallery, and all who will may catch the 
whispered messages. It is possible for all to 
develop this receptivity ; that is, to get into tune 
with the world. The thoughts of the world are 
much like the noises of a great city — a mean- 
ingless din unless an effort is made to discrimi- 
nate between them. By attention one sound 
may be separated from the rest and its location 
and meaning determined. In like manner in- 
dividual thoughts may be separated from the 
multitude that come to us and their source and 
meaning interpreted. The term Telepathy has 
been defined to mean the communication of one 
mind or person with another, beyond the range 
of the physical senses, without the interposition 
of any physical agent. Perhaps the exact mean- 
ing is better indicated by the expression, 



TELEPATHY. 99 



Thought Transference. Many facts point to 
the existence of such a means of communica- 
tion. Some facts are found in the phenomena 
observed; first in the waking state, second in 
natural sleep and third in hypnosis. 

IN THE WAKING STATE. 

All persons have had experience in Thought 
Transference. Doubtless every person who 
reads these pages has had personal experience, 
if he takes time to think and recall instances. 
Thought Transference is not something new; 
so far back in history as the Sacred Record, 
examples have been recorded. It is said of 
Jesus that "knowing their thoughts" he an- 
swered them or asked them questions, and it 
appears that it was a common experience with 
Him to use this means of communication. 

But we do not have to go back to ancient 
records to find examples of Thought Transfer- 
ence, or Mind Reading; they are common ex- 
periences today. Two persons associated to- 
gether often surprise each other by the one 
speaking of what the other has been thinking. 
A patient of mine told me the other day that 
when her sister came to her room and opened 
the door, before she spoke a word, she could 
tell her what she was about to ask, and often 

LofC. 



100 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



answered her without the question being pro- 
nounced. 

Close sympathy or rapport greatly facilitates 
the transfer and interpretation of thoughts. 
Persons have been known to be so thoroughly 
in rapport that it was difficult to tell with which 
one the thought originated. A lady friend of 
mine told me that she got so thoroughly in rap- 
port with a public speaker that she could often 
anticipate his words. On one occasion, when 
in the midst of his discourse he suddenly stopped 
and picked up his handkerchief from the desk, 
for an instant it seemed to have been her hand 
that picked up the 'kerchief, for she distinctly 
felt the silk texture of it. 

Recently I read a very interesting account of 
Mental Telegraphy written by a well-known 
author of his own experience with a friend. He 
was living in the East at the time, and his friend 
was living in Nevada. He says: 

"Two or three years ago I was lying in bed 
idly musing one morning, when suddenly a 'red 
hot' new idea came whistling down into my 
camp and exploding with such expansive effec- 
tiveness as to sweep the vicinity clear of rub- 
bishy reflections and fill the air with their dust 
and flying fragments." The idea, simply stated, 
was that it was the time for the writing of a 



TELEPATHY. 101 



certain book on the silver mines of Nevada, and 
this Nevada friend of his was just the man to 
write it, and so he arose from his bed and im- 
mediately set to writing a letter to his friend, 
telling him in substance that the time was ripe 
and the market ready for such a book, and be- 
cause he was a particular friend he made bold 
to state what he considered the plan of the book 
ought to be, and, indeed, went into some detail. 
After writing the letter he was a little concerned 
about the wisdom of advising his friend to 
write a book before a publisher was found, so 
he pigeon-holed the letter until such a time as 
he could have a conference with his own pub- 
lisher about getting out the book. A week 
passed before he could have the desired confer- 
ence with his publisher, when one day a letter 
arrived and he recognized his friend's hand- 
writing on the outside of the envelope. He 
turned to some friends present when the letter 
was received and said : 

"I will do a miracle — I will tell what this 
letter contains before I open it." And he gave 
an outlined statement of the contents of the let- 
ter and then opened the same and read it to 
his friends, and it tallied in a most remarkable 
manner with his previous statement. The "red 
hot idea" apparently was not original with him, 



102 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



but was telepathed to him by his friend in 
Nevada. 

It is plain from the above how innocent per- 
sons are apparently guilty of plagarism. Original 
thoughts are not always original with the per- 
son who publishes them; they may be uncon- 
sciously obtained from another. Such a case 
occurred with a couple of acquaintances. They 
each wrote a book on the same subject, while 
living one in the United States, the other in 
China. The books were very similar in ar- 
rangement, and whole pages were practically 
identical. Each thought that the other had 
copied his work, but an inquiry proved that 
neither had seen the other's work before writing 
his own, and it was decided that it was a 
case of Thought Transference. One caught the 
other's thoughts, or they both obtained them 
from an unknown third party. 

I have sometimes made experiments in Telep- 
athy, and recall now an experiment made one 
evening with cards. A professional gentleman 
was thoroughly blindfolded and turned with his 
back to the table around which several of us 
were seated ; then a card was placed upon the 
table at random and the blindfolded gentleman 
was asked to tell what card it was. In several 
instances he announced speedily and correctly 



TELEPATHY. 103 



the suit and value of the card. Some of the 
other members of the party tried similar experi- 
ments, and a sufficient number of successes were 
obtained to convince us that the results could 
not be accounted for by guesses. Sometimes 
instead of using cards we drew geometrical fig- 
ures upon a sheet of paper, then passed the 
paper from one to the other, each in turn witli 
a pencil tracing the outline of the figure, while 
the blindfolded man made his mind a blank or 
receptive and told what the figure was; in this 
also many successes were scored. 

I recall a little incident that occurred several 
years ago when I was acting in the capacity of 
judge of an election. One day while we were 
sitting in the polling place, not having much to 
do we fell to talking of Thought Transference, 
Mind Reading and the like, when suddenly a 
gentleman addressed one of the clerks, saying: 

"I can tell you what you had for breakfast. 
I can tell you where you got that suit of clothes 
and how much you paid for it. I can tell you 
your mother's maiden name, the name of the 
first school teacher you ever had. and can tell 
you the number of your watch ; and I will wager 
you five dollars that I tell you all of these things 
without making a mistake." He was unable to 
get a wager, but to prove that he was not jestingf 



104 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



he proceeded to tell these several things, and, 
indeed, succeeded in telling them all without a 
mistake. 

The theory of distant or absent treatment of 
the sick is based upon these facts. Undoubtedly 
it is possible under certain conditions to send 
helpful suggestions to persons who are ill at 
a distance. I have in mind now a case in point. 
A young lady patient of mine living not far from 
my rooms was seriously ill, and one night was 
unable to go to sleep. She said to her friend 
who was attending her: 

"I am so dreadfully nervous I am sure that I 
shall not sleep at all during the night." 

At about eleven o'clock I returned to my 
rooms and while preparing to retire was im- 
pressed, or in more accurate words received a 
message telling me that my patient was nervous 
and restless, and I immediately answered the 
message, addressing these words to the patient 
as though I were in her presence : 

"You will not be restless any more, and will 
soon go to sleep and rest comfortably all night." 

The result was that she did go to sleep and 
rested well. The next morning when I made 
my regular call upon the patient she told me of 
her experience the night before and asked me 
if I had sent her a quieting message at about 



TELEPATHY. ioS 



eleven o'clock. I admitted that I had. In this 
case we have a positive demonstration of Mental 
Telegraphy. 

Any two persons can readily make a study of 
Telepathy in the following manner: A con- 
venient time should be appointed when neither 
is likely to be disturbed. One should send and 
the other should receive the messages. The 
agent and percipient may exchange offices at 
their pleasure. The sittings should not be too 
long — thirty minutes is long enough. Divide 
the time into two or three parts and try to send 
a thought or an idea in each part. The receiver 
or percipient should make a note of the thoughts 
received at the time and later compare notes 
with the sender or agent. A telepascope has 
been devised as an aid in these simple experi- 
ments. It is simply a long tube wide enough 
to allow both eyes to look through it at once at 
the object or figure to be transferred. Any one 
can make one out of cardboard to serve that 
purpose. It aids the agent in concentrating the 
attention on a single object. We will now turn 
to a study of Telepathy, 

IN NATURAL SLEEP. 

Most of the phenomena of Thought Trans- 
ference or Telepathy observed in natural sleep 



106 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



occur in dreams. Dreams which give a true 
account of happenings. You remember we 
have a very early account of such a dream and 
its interpretation. Daniel of old, after all of 
the magicians and sooth-sayers in Nebuchad- 
nezzar's court had failed to tell the King the 
dream he had had, which he had forgotten, and 
its interpretation, volunteered to tell the King 
what he wanted to know, that is, to tell him his 
wonderful dream and its interpretation, and 
thereby saved his own life and glorified the God 
of Israel. 

The instances in which dreams have brought 
important revelations are too many to be ac- 
counted for by coincidence ; but do not under- 
stand me to say that every dream of the night 
is a revelation. Undoubtedly many dreams are 
of little or no importance, but when it happens 
that a person dreams the details of some event 
and it leaves an indellible impression upon the 
mind, coincidence is not a sufficient explanation. 
For example, a lady recently dreamed that she 
saw her brother murdered. They were more 
than a thousand miles apart — she in Indiana and 
he in Nebraska. The dream was so realistic 
that she seemed to take part in the struggle 
between her brother and his murderer. The 
next morning she told her friends and declared 



TELEPATHY. 107 



that she knew that her brother had been killed. 
Shortly thereafter she received a message telling 
her that her brother was dead, having been mur- 
dered in his own house upon his ranch. The 
sister sent a description of the man she had seen 
commit the murder in her dream to the sheriff 
of the county, who recognized from the descrip- 
tion one of several persons and arrestee! him. 
It seems that this dream must have been due 
to Thought Transference. Doubtless many 
messages come to us in this manner that are 
not interpreted, although we have a feeling of 
uneasiness and apprehension. 

Experiments are easily made upon sleeping 
subjects which certainly prove that external in- 
fluences of various sorts make impressions upon 
sleepers and direct their dreams. It is well 
known that a person sleeping in a cold draught 
of air is likely to dream of experiences in cold 
environments, as being out on a bleak prairie 
or in an exposed position. Another experi- 
ment often made is the playing of music in the 
presence of sleeping persons and afterwards 
awakening and asking them of what they have 
been dreaming. Almost invariably they tell of 
having dreamed of attending a concert, opera 
or some musical entertainment. 

It is as easy to cause visual hallucination by 



108 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



talking to the sleeper as it is to cause bther 
dreams, but more peculiar instances of hallu- 
cination are those caused from a distance by a 
person purposely sending a telepathic message. 
Many have made this sort of experiment, and 
it is made as follows : 

Just before going to sleep the sender or agent 
strongly wills that during his sleep his presence 
shall be felt or seen by some other person or 
persons at a distance. The result which is fre- 
quently obtained is, that the distant sleeper or 
percipient either feels or sees the outline or 
image of the agent. I am aware that there is 
another explanation for this besides Telepathy, 
namely, that it is the astral body of the agent 
projected into the presence of the percipient, but 
I prefer the former explanation. Thought 
Transference and hallucination admirably ac- 
count for all the phenomena. The phenomena 
of sleep will be more fully discussed in the chap- 
ter on Sleep and Dreams, so we will pass on to 
the consideration of Thought Transference, 

IN HYPNOSIS. 

Hypnotism is a great aid to the study of all 
of the supersensuous phenomena, and especially 
of the study of the phenomena of Telepathy. 
In the various states of hypnosis we find inti- 



TELEPATHY. 109 



mations of the explanation of the two classes of 
phenomena recorded above, for hypnosis fur- 
nishes an opportunity to study the operations 
of the mind found in no other mental condition. 
Experiments are readily made with hypnotized 
subjects, and the results will satisfy the most 
skeptical that Thought Transference is a fact. 
Hypnotized persons frequently surprise us with 
exhibitions of Mind Reading, Clairvoyance and 
the like. Let me cite such an instance. 

One evening while observing the effect of 
music upon a young lady in hypnosis, I told 
her that a gentleman present had told a very 
humorous story and began to laugh and she 
joined me in my pretended mirth. Afterward 
when questioned about the story she repeated 
the story in detail that she insisted she had 
heard the gentleman tell. No story had really 
been told, but she had read it in the mind of 
the gentleman who was supposed to have told 
it. It was one of the few stories that he was 
accustomed to tell, and she had never heard it. 
Evidently she had read his mind, but the 
strangest thing about it was that in her memory 
it had been told in detail. 

My experience with hypnotic subjects has 
been large. I will recite the notes taken from 
an evening's experimentation. There were 



110 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



present three physicians, a high school super- 
intendent, a druggist and two ladies. The pro- 
fessor was chosen as the subject for the evening, 
inrst, experiments were made with him in the 
waking state, and then they were continued 
under hypnotic influence. 

The subject was thoroughly blindfolded and 
placed so that all present could easily see his 
face, but at no time was he in contact with any 
one. Then a playing card, the three of clubs, 
was placed against his forehead, partly under 
the bandage, with its face toward the company. 
We waited in silence, looking at and thinking 
of the card, while he made his mind passive and 
receptive, with a view to telling what the card 
was. After a couple of minutes he said*: 

"I do not see anything, and I cannot think 
of anything except the three-spot of clubs." 

The seven-spot of a red suit was next placed 
in the same position, and after waiting a little 
longer than before he said : 

"I can see the card. It is a red suit, but I 
cannot tell whether it is a heart or a diamond, 
nor whether it is a seven or an eight spot." 

Two or three other cards were placed suc- 
cessively in the same position, but he was un- 
able to tell the suit or the number of spots, 
although he could regularly tell the color. 



TELEPATHY. HI 



Wishing to see if better results could be ob- 
tained by the aid of hypnotism, I hypnotized 
him while he was still blindfolded and placed 
him in an easy chair with his back to the table 
around which we were seated. He went into 
a condition known as lucid lethargy and was 
well aware of what we were doing and heartily 
carried out his part of the study. 

No one present spoke a word except the sub- 
ject and myself. The affair was altogether im- 
promptu and the tests were as follows : Various 
objects were placed noiselessly upon the padded 
table, and those of us assembled about it con- 
centrated our gaze and attention upon them 
until he got a mental impression of them. The 
objects were selected by any one present hap- 
hazard. Let me mention the objects in detail. 

The first object placed upon the table was a 
little terra-cotta vase with three looplike han- 
dles, like those upon a creamer. Almost imme- 
diately the professor said : 

"I see it; it is a little brown creamer." A 
side view only showed two of the fhree handles, 
and it was manifest that he got the image of 
the object by Thought Transference from those 
who were looking at it. 

One of the doctors then placed his penknife, 
which had a long black handle, upon the table. 



112 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



When asked what he saw, the subject replied: 

"I see something black; it is long and 
straight." The doctor at this point partly 
opened one of the blades and at once the sub- 
ject added: "No, it is not straight; it is turned 
up at one end. Oh, yes, I see what it is — it is 
a penknife. " 

A small, round call-bell was next placed upon 
the table and was at once recognized and named 
by the subject. In like manner, a little salt-bot- 
tle, glass with a silver top, filled with salt, was 
quickly recognized and described as "a small 
white bottle with a silver top." 

A silver tea-bell next found its way upon the 
table, and after a little delay the subject said: 
"I can see it, but I don't know what it is. It 
looks like a morning-glory with a portion of the 
stem attached." At this juncture some one 
quietly turned the bell so that it lay upon its 
side, and in a moment the subject continued': 
"Oh, yes, I see. Now, I know what it is — it 
is a tea-bell." 

A book was then placed upon the table, and 
we all expected he would at once announce that 
he saw a book ; but he did not. For a consid- 
erable time he remained silent as if puzzled: 

"What do you see?" I finally asked him, and 
he replied: "The only thing that I can see is 
a stamp." 



TELEPATHY. 113 

We thought that he had made a flat failure, 
but the lady sitting opposite to me, without 
speaking, turned the book over and I saw that 
it nad a library stamp stuck upon its back.. So 
I asked: 

"Where is the stamp?" 

"It is stuck on the back of a book," he in- 
stantly replied. 

This led us to believe that he must have got- 
ten the image of the stamp from Mrs. B., who 
was the only one present who had noticed it 
and had turned the book so that I could see 
it and had called my attention to it. So we spent 
a little time in following out that idea, with 
most satisfactory results : He could readily and 
infallibly tell in what part of the room Mrs. B. 
was, although she moved about noiselessly, 
while the rest of us made plenty of noise and 
carried on animated discussions. 

It is hardly necessary to add anything to the 
above notes. They tell their own story, and 
to my mind can only be explained upon the 
hypothesis of Telepathy or Clairvoyance. 

Delayed perception was in several instances 
observed, for instance, when we were about to 
change the subject, indeed, in one instance had 
changed it, he suddenly definitely saw its 
image and positively stated what it was. If the 



1 14 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCH1SM. 



transfer of thought depends upon the subcon- 
scious mind this delay is easily accounted for; 
otherwise it is not. 

Apparently better results are obtained with 
a hypnotized subject, and doubtless this is be- 
cause the subject in hypnosis can to a greater 
degree disregard outside distracting influences 
and become more passive and receptive. 

A peculiar thing about the evening's study 
was the feeling that Professor S. had about it 
subsequently. A month or two later he was 
inclined to doubt the whole matter, and said 
that he thought that we could easily explain it 
all if we only knew enough. I am of the same 
opinion about the explanation, but I feel cer- 
tain that the explanation would be none other 
than Telepathy. 

Many experimenters have investigated the 
subject of hypnotizing by Thought Transfer- 
ence — i. e., hypnotizing a subject at a distance 
or beyond the reach of sense communication, 
and have succeeded to a remarkable degree. 
My own attempts along this line have not been 
as successful as I could have wished; however, 
I have found indications of partial success in 
a number of instances. Let me cite one. One 
evening several years ago in the presence of one 
of my classes I attempted to bring one of the 



TELEPATHY. 115 



absent members of the class by a mental com- 
mand and afterwards learned that he had the 
following experience. At about eight o'clock, 
the hour of the experiment, he suddenly re- 
membered that it was the hour for the meeting 
of his class, and he went to the elevator and 
asked the time. He lived about a mile from my 
rooms and knew that he could not arrive 
until very late, so although he had a strong in- 
clination to come, he finally decided not to do 
so. It appears that the mental command 
reached him, but he did not obey. Perhaps if 
we had continued the command the result would 
have been different. 

Persons who succeed best in Mental Teleg- 
raphy are those who are naturally, or fry train- 
ing, Psychics. The Trance Mediums are all 
Psychics and are able to interpret the telepathic 
messages sent to them from other minds. Prob- 
ably the reason that most of us fail in our at- 
tempts to make practical use of Telepathy is 
because we are unable to interpret the mes- 
sages that reach our minds. Many persons 
admit that they have felt certain peculiar im- 
pressions and some presentiment of evil at the 
time of accidents to their friends, but while they 
were uneasy and anxious they were unable to 
interpret the messages that were doubtless sent. 



116 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



These messages are probably stored in the sub- 
conscious minds of the receivers and when they 
go to Mind Readers these facts or messages are 
readily secured and interpreted for them. In- 
direct messages are obtained in this way: A 
sends a message to B, who afterwards goes to 
C for a reading, and C reads the message, 
thereby gaining knowledge of what was appar- 
ently known only by A. This is what is called 
Telepathie a trois, or Telepathy by three. You 
will see that these facts offer the explanation of 
many of the phenomena of Spiritism, which will 
be discussed in the subsequent chapter. 

Many other experiments made in Thought 
Transference might be added, but it is thought 
that the above will suffice, for it will be further 
illustrated in the discussion of Clairvoyance and 
Clairaudience, to follow immediately. The phe- 
nomena of the supersensuous faculties can only 
with difficulty be separated, they are so inti- 
mately related. 



CHAPTER VII. 
CLAIRVOYANCE AND CLAIRAUDIENCE. 

Clairvoyance and Clairaudience real facts — The avenues 
which lead to the mind — Sense perceptions depend- 
ent upon the mind — The seen and the unseen relative 
terms — The impenetrability of matter and the X- 
ray — Clairvoyance and Clairaudience in con- 
scious states — The phenomena intimately related 
with Telepathy — Natural and developed power — The 
Author's experience — A Clairvoyant reading veri- 
fied — Clairvoyance and Clairaudience in the 
subconscious state — Intentional and unintentional 
experiences — The subconscious states — Experiments 
with hypnotized subjects — A young man sent to 
Cuba — A young lady sent home — A trip to South 
Africa — Describes a battle — She tells the time — 
Conclusion. 

These subjects are so similar and closely re- 
lated that it seems best to consider them to- 
gether. Little is known about them, so little 
indeed that Clairvoyance and Clairaudience are 
thought by some to be simply names. How- 
117 



118 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



ever, they are real facts, as the large amount 
of phenomena which they have produced clearly 
shows. It will be worth while to carefully re- 
view the phenomena and satisfy ourselves that 
it is abundant and sufficient. 

The physical senses are not the only avenues 
which lead to the mind; there are many other 
portals that may be unbarred and opened. Open 
wide the windows of your soul, let in the light 
from every source. The narrow apertures ot 
the physical senses are too meager to let in the 
whole truth, and anything less will not satisfy 
the longings, aspirations and hopes of the 
human soul. 

The eyes do not see ; it is the mind behind 
them that sees; the ears do not hear, it is 
the mind behind their mechanism that hears. 
The eyes recognize the waves of light and the 
ear detects the vibrations of sound, but they do 
not limit the range of sight or hearing. An 
object that has passed beyond the range of the 
unaided eye can be plainly brought into view 
by the use of a telescope ; likewise, an object too 
small to be seen by the unaided eye may be 
clearly seen and studied with the aid of the 
microscope. The sound that is beyond the 
range of the unaided ear can be plainly heard 
by means of an audiphone. This would seem 



CLAIRVOYANCE. 119 



to prove that sight and hearing both depend 
upon the delicacy of the receiving instruments. 
If the instruments were keen enough no ray of 
light would be too small to be detected or no 
sound too faint to be heard. Is not the mind 
in its immediate perception unhampered by the 
physical senses subtle enough to meet these re- 
quirements ? 

It is plain that the seen and the unseen are 
simply relative terms. What may be unseen by 
me may be plainly seen by another. What I am 
unable to see with unaided vision can be brought 
into view by the aid of instruments, the same 
is true of hearing, the unheard may become 
heard under other conditions. The vibrations 
of light and sound do not stop where our ordi- 
nary powers to detect them fail, but they go 
on and on. In childhood we were told that the 
waves started by a stone thrown into the water 
near the shore, would go on and on until they 
broke against the distant shore, though it were 
thousands of miles away. Is it not equally true 
that the waves of light and sound when started 
go on and on until they break upon the shores 
of eternity? 

The recent discovery of the X-ray has re- 
vealed the existence of a subtle ether by means 
of which the rays of light may be made to pene- 



120 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



trate so-called opaque bodies. Indeed, the the- 
ory of impenetrability of matter no longer holds, 
according to many scientists. By means of 
some such subtle ether thought waves are car- 
ried from mind to mind across wide distances 
of space, and messages are intelligently sent and 
received by Telepathy. Is it not possible, not 
to say probable, that light waves and sound 
waves may be conveyed by a similar if not the 
same ether across like distances? Whether we 
adopt such a theory or not, the fact of seeing 
and hearing by some means beyond the range 
of the physical senses is indubitable. We are 
aware that discarnate spirit communications are 
offered as explanations of these phenomena, and 
a discussion of them will be given in the chapter 
on Spiritism. 

A study of the phenomena of Clairvoyance 
and Clairaudience will aid in reaching a more 
or less satisfactory conclusion as to what expla- 
nation should be accepted. The phenomena in 
question naturally arrange themselves in two 
groups, for part of them is produced while the 
mind is in an ordinary conscious condition and 
another part of them is produced when the mind 
is in a subconscious condition. And so we will 
divide the subject into these two groups, namely, 
I. The phenomena produced by persons in 



CLAIRVOYANCE. 1 2 1 



conscious states, and 2. The phenomena pro- 
duced by persons in subconscious states. 

IN CONSCIOUS STATES. 

The phenomena of Clairvoyance and Clair- 
audience are so intimately associated and 
blended with those of Telepathy that it is almost 
impossible to separate them. Indeed, the rela- 
tionship is so close that many are inclined to 
believe that they are all due to Thought Trans- 
ference. It is easy to see how this miscon- 
ception has arisen after a study of Telepathy 
such as we have made. It was shown that many 
thought communications were received in visual 
or auditory forms. Not infrequently the visions 
are allegorical in Thought Transference — that 
is, the transference of a picture of the ten-spot 
of diamonds would not be a card with red 
diamond-shaped spots, but as likely as not a 
series of real diamonds arranged in that order. 
That is not true of Clairvoyance ; the picture is 
usually quite natural and lifelike unless, as some- 
times occurs, there is a blending of Telepathy 
and Clairvoyance. 

Psychics who have clairvoyant powers are of 
two classes, called natural and developed. The 
natural Clairvoyant is one who has stumbled 
upon the power and understands little of the 



122 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



law underlying it or the means of controlling 
it. He is as much or more surprised at his 
marvelous power than his friends, and usually 
runs off to some one who is supposed to know 
to find out about it. The developed Clairvoyant 
is quite a different character. He has acquired 
his psychic power by patient persevering prac- 
tice and knows how to control and use it. 

Clairvoyant power is not limited to the per- 
sons who bear the name; indeed, it is quite 
common in others, so common that almost every 
one sometime, somewhere, has had an example 
of it in his own experience. Let me relate such 
an experience that occurred to me last summer. 

One Sunday evening, having retired very 
early, I was lying in a meditative mood when 
suddenly I saw clearly a young lady acquain- 
tance sitting at a table writing. I recognized 
her and decided that she was at that moment 
writing to me and I had seen her and known 
it, although she was in a city seven hundred 
miles away. In the morning I said to my par- 
ents, with whom I was visiting at the time: 

"I will do a mystery for you." 

"Well, what is it?" my father inquired. 

"I will predict the receipt of a letter from 
Chicago, which will arrive tomorrow, Tuesday, 
afternoon." 



CLAIRVOYANCE. i23 



"Perhaps you have an appointment with some 
one to write to you so that it will arrive at that 
time," my mother suggested. 

"No," was the reply; "I have not heard from 
the young lady for several weeks, and have no 
appointment to write." 

"Well, then, how do you know?" was asked. 

"I had a clairvoyant vision last night," I re- 
plied. Then I told them just how the vision 
occurred, and also mentioned the name of the 
lady who was to write. 

Tuesday came, but brought no letter, and 
1 was heartily laughed at by my parents, who 
were skeptical about such things. Two days 
later I received a letter from the lady, in which 
she wrote: "I have tried several times," she 
said, "to write to you lately, but have not suc- 
ceeded in doing so until now." 

A few days later I returned to Chicago, and 
shortly thereafter met the young lady in question 
and she asked me if I had received her letter 
before my return, and I replied: 

"Yes, I received the letter you wrote on Tues- 
day, but not the one you wrote on Sunday night. 
I suppose you tore that one up." 

"How do you know that I wrote to you on 
Sunday night?" she asked, in evident amaze- 
ment. 




124 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



"Oh, I just know," I laughingly replied; but 
she would not be satisfied until I had explained 
the whole matter to her. She admitted that she 
had written Sunday night, as I had clairvoy- 
antly known. 

The above is a fair sample of spontaneous 
Clairvoyance. The trained Psychic who has ob- 
tained control of his mental faculties by sitting 
in the silence or some other method described 
in the previous chapters could do intentionally 
what I did accidentally. I have had sittings 
with a considerable number of so-called Inde- 
pendent Clairvoyants, with various results. For 
the most part their readings consisted of the 
combined use of Telepathy, Clairvoyance and 
Psychometry, but a few were true Clairvoyants. 
I recall one experiment that was made for the 
purpose of verifying the reading. It was as fol- 
lows: 

Something over a year ago, when doing an 
errand in a distant part of the city I was 
reminded that I was near the home of a promi- 
nent Clairvoyant and decided to consult her. I 
went to her residence and asked for a sitting, 
which was granted. Without telling my name 
or residence or giving any clue as to my iden- 
tity I seated myself in her consultation room. 
She asked for my handkerchief or a glove, and 



CLAIRVOYANCE. 125 



upon receiving and holding my handkerchief she 
readily told me all about myself. I knew my 
history already and wanted something more, so 
I asked her to locate a friend of mine who was 
traveling in Iowa and tell me what he was doing 
at the present hour. She asked me if I had 
anything about me that he had owned or car- 
ried. I had a small leather card-case that had 
been his, for we had exchanged card-cases 
shortly before he went away. I handed her the 
card-case and after a few moments' meditation 
she announced that she saw him. 

"He is in an hotel sitting in a small bedroom 
writing. I will describe him and the room for 
you," she said. 

She gave a good description of my friend and 
said the room was a small, plainly furnishd one, 
and that it contained only one picture, and that 
one was an unframed campaign picture of Mc- 
Kinley. 

"He has finished writing; he was writing a 
letter to you; I can see your name on the 
envelope that he has just addressed and sealed," 
she continued. 

I asked her to watch him for a few minutes 
and tell me what he did. She did so, and in- 
formed me that he was leaning back in his chair 
with his feet upon the table, smoking. That was 
just like him. 



126 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



"He has called to some one to come in," she 
resumed, after a brief pause. "A short, middle- 
aged gentleman has entered the room. He is 
carrying a gun-case and asked your friend if he 
is ready. He answers 'y es >' and has gotten up 
and picked up his hat and gun-case, which were 
on the table. They have gone out and closed 
the door of the room." 

I determined to verify her statements and 
wrote my friend a letter as soon as I reached 
home, asking him to tell me what he did imme- 
diately after writing me a letter that day. The 
letter that she said he had written came to me 
the next day and a few days later I received 
another letter answering my enquiries from 
which I give an extract below: 

"I do not know why you want to know what 
I was doing the other day and much less do I 
know how you became informed that I had 
written you a letter, for I am not a very regular 
correspondent. I suppose it is one of your 
everlasting experiments, so it is all right, old 
fellow. Let me see, after writing your letter I 
sat and smoked for awhile and waited for an 
acquaintance who was coming for me to go 
chicken shooting with him. I did not have to 
wait long for he was on time, two o'clock, and 
then I took my gun and your letter and we 
went out together. 



Clairvoyance. 127 



"About the pictures upon the walls of my 
room, it will be easy to reply, for there are 
none — well, that is no framed pictures, but 
there is an old, dilapidated campaign picture of 
McKinley. By the way, your description of my 
acquaintance was very good, how did you get 
it? We had some good shooting; I wish you 
had been along, for you would have enjoyed it." 

The above experiment gives good ground for 
the belief in the reality of Clairvoyance and 
Clairaudience, for the woman evidently saw and 
heard what she described to me, as my verifica- 
tion conclusively proves. 

IN SUBCONSCIOUS STATES. 

Clairvoyants often fall into trances or into 
more or less subconscious conditions. The 
trained Clairvoyant does this at will but others 
have unintentional experiences. Some persons 
during sleep have dreams of a Clairvoyant or 
a Clairaudient nature, but to Sleep and Dreams 
a special chapter will be allotted. Let it suffice 
here to say that such experiences are not unlike 
those which occur in trances. The somnam- 
bulist or sleepwalker performs feats with closed 
eyes which go far to prove that Clairvoyance 
is a fact, but these too must be reserved for 
another chapter. ' 



128 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



Hypnotics while in a state of hypnosis not in- 
frequently develop Clairvoyant and Clairaudient 
powers. These may be readily and critically 
studied under the most careful test conditions. 
As examples and accounts of experiments are 
more interesting and convincing than theoretical 
discussions, several such experiments will be 
related. 

One evening last winter a young man whom 
I had made some experiments with previously, 
was hypnotized and directed to go to Washing- 
ton and call upon the President and tell us 
what he was doing at the time. 

"I see him," he said after a little pause, "but 
that guy over there has his eyes on me," he 
continued. 

"Who do you mean?" was asked. 

"Why, that porter over there — he knows I 
have no business in here." 

"Never mind him, just observe the President 
and see what he is doing and hear what he 
says," he was instructed. 

"The President is sitting there with two 
other gentlemen ; he is reading a cablegram." 

"What does the cablegram contain? Read it 
for us," he was instructed. 

"I cannot read it ; it is in cypher, but I heard 
the President say that it is unofficial," he replied. 



CLAIRVOYANCE. 129 



It was impossible to verify his statements 
with reference to the President, but other state- 
ments made a few minutes later were verified 
in due time. The experiments were made dur- 
ing the Spanish-American war, at the time 
when the whereabouts of Cervera's fleet was 
unknown and there was considerable anxiety 
about the matter. The subject was instructed 
to go to Cuba and locate the fleet. After a little 
hesitation he announced that he saw them and 
explained that the Spanish Fleet was in San- 
tiago Bay and that the American Fleet was 
anchored in the open sea outside. Events a few 
days later proved the truth of his statements. 
After coming out of his hypnotic trance he had 
no memory of what he had seen, heard or said, 
as is usually the case in profound hypnosis. 

One more experiment made and verified quite 
recently will suffice to illustrate our contention. 
A young lady who had become much interested 
in Psychic matters wished to be hypnotized and 
if possible allowed to visit her home, in a city 
over four hundred miles distant, while in hyp- 
nosis. She was hypnotized and proved to be 
a very sensitive person. She readily visited her 
home and evinced a lively interest in things and 
persons found there. She held an extended con- 
versation with her mother and fell into a heated 



130 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



argument with some ladies who were at the 
time making her mother a call. 

The mother and the callers were preparing to 
go to a musical recital. She observed and made 
remarks about the waist her mother wore on the 
occasion; it was a lavender colored silk 
with white polka dots. The young lady in- 
quired about the programme and learned the 
several numbers that were to be rendered and 
made comments favorable or unfavorable upon 
each and finally decided she did not care to at- 
tend the function. The names of the persons 
who were to take part in the programme we 
learned from her conversation with her mother 
to be as follows: 

First, Mrs. J. was to sing a solo; Mr. G. 
was down for a select reading; Mrs. B. was to 
sing a song, and Mr. C. was to render some of 
his characteristic negro selections. 

At my suggestion the young lady remem- 
bered all of her conversations and experiences 
while in the hypnosis. The following morning 
she wrote her mother, making inquiries about 
her doings upon the night of her experiment, 
hut before receiving the latter the mother wrote, 
incidentally, telling just what we wanted to 
know. The part of the letter confirming our 
experiment is given below and is as follows : 



CLAIRVOYANCE. 



"I am now going to answer your letter of last 
Sunday. You ask about home news. Well, 
first I must tell you about a new waist I have; 
it is lavender with white dots, which I think is 
very pretty. 

''Mrs. C. and Dodo were up to spend the 
afternoon yesterday and took tea with me. We 
had a pleasant chat about you and then went 
to the first benefit concert of the season. Mrs. 
J. sang, Mr. G. read, Mrs. B. sang too, and 
Mr. C's. negro impersonations were enjoyed 
very much." 

A good deal of the above experiment might 
be accounted for by Telepathy, but undoubtedly 
a part of it must have been due to Clairvoyance, 
especially the part referring to the mother's 
dress. Beside other experiments made with 
this subject certainly establish her Clairvoyant 
power. Let me record one more. 

Two weeks later she expressed a wish to be 
sent to some unknown country and was sent to 
South Africa to learn about the war between 
the English and the Boers. She went first to 
Cape Town and there attempted to make in- 
quiry as to the location of the seat of war and 
was much distressed at being answered in 
a foreign tongue. She was instructed to find 
some one who spoke English and inquire of 



132 



THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



him, and she did, learning that the seat of war 
was near Kimberley. She went to Kimberley 
and located the contending armies. Then she 
described in detail an engagement in which the 
Boers were first repulsed but later rallied and 
defeated the English. This was an unexpected 
report, for the English had lately been regularly 
victorious. However, her description and an- 
nouncement were confirmed by official reports 
published two days later. 

Many other experiments might be recounted 
such as telling the time by an open-face watch 
that no one present had seen, when it was placed 
upon the top of her head ; but it is thought that 
enough has been given to prove the existence 
of Independent Clairvoyance and Clairaudience. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
PSYCHOMETRY. 

The intimate relationship between supersensuous facul- 
ties — Definition of Psychometry — Mysterious consti- 
tution of nature — Dr. Brewster quoted — "The book 
of nature" — History of Psychometry — The Psy- 
chometrist's development — Psychometry in the 
waking state— Its application — A Mineral Psy- 
chometrist — Psychometry in Medicine — An experi- 
ment with a piece of wood from the Mount of 
Olives— Psychometry deals only with the past — 
Some unscrupulous Psychometrists — Psychometry 
in Hypnosis — The states compared — Experiment 
with a souvenir from Niagara Falls — The Hypnotic 
visits the falls — The Psychic atmosphere of coun- 
tries — America's position — Psychometry needs care- 
ful study to place it upon its proper footing. 

The supersensuous faculties include one more 
member which deserves separate consideration, 
so it is thought best to give Psychometry a 
chapter by itself. The intimate relationship be- 
tween Telepathy, Clairvoyance and Psychometry 
has led many to consider them together as dif- 
ferent phases of the same subject. It is true 
that Psychometry is rarely observed alone; its 
133 



134 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



phenomena are generally mixed with those of 
the other faculties. However, it appears that 
the phenomena peculiar to Psychometry are 
sufficiently characteristic to differentiate them 
from Telepathy and Clairvoyance. This is espe- 
cially true in one particular, namely, that Clair- 
voyance and Telepathy are chiefly concerned 
with messages from persons while Psychometry 
concerned itself chiefly with things. 

Psychometry may be defined as mind or soul 
measurement, but it would be better to change 
the word measurement to read interpretation. 
The Psychometrist is a person who is able to 
divine, by physical contact or proximity the 
character and history of a thing and the things 
by which it has been environed ; that is, to give 
the whole history of the thing from the vibratory 
influences that emanate from it. For him the 
past and the present are alike open books. The 
keenness of his perception is phenomenal and as 
we think of it we are forced to say with the 
prophet of old that man is made in the image 
of God and is only limited by his own ignorance. 

The marvelous power of man is little more 
wonderful than the mysterious constitution of 
nature. That all experiences leave their indeli- 
ble impressions upon man so that he is at any 
stage of his development a living history of his 



PSYCHOMETRY. 135 



past does not seem so wonderful as the fact that 
so called inanimate things carry with them a 
similar historical record. When the Psychom- 
etrist picks up a bit of stone, wood or shell, his 
sensitive perception reads a historical record 
which the subject contains. The means and 
manner of recording this history is well ex- 
plained by Doctor Brewster, who says : 

"All bodies throw off emanations in greater 
or less size and with greater or less velocities; 
these particles enter more or less into the pores 
of solid and fluid bodies, sometimes resting upon 
their surface, and sometimes permeating them 
altogether. These emanations, when feeble, 
show themselves in images; when stronger, in 
chemical changes ; when stronger still, in their 
action on the olfactory nerves; and when 
thrown off most copiously and rapidly, in heat 
affecting the nerves of touch; in photographic 
action, dissevering and recombining the ele- 
ments of nature; and in phosphorescent and 
luminous emanations, exciting the retina and 
producing vision." 

These peculiar emanations and registrations 
continue their operations day and night and have 
been doing so since the beginning of things. 
They faithfully photograph others and are as 
faithfully photographed by others. So that each 



136 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



has a complete and accurate history of all that 
has happened to it and near it. Nature by this 
means becomes in truth a "book of nature," and 
he who is the true naturalist is the one who can 
read these records of the past. "Communing 
with nature" means something to the person 
who understands nature's power of communi- 
cation and it is no wonder that many who have 
communed with nature have been able to talk 
and write as if inspired; they were inspired. 
Places and things become more important when 
we know that every stone, brick and window- 
pane carries a record of the past and if they 
could speak to us they would be constantly 
telling us of things many of which have faded 
from the tablets of memory. The walls of the 
nursery in the old homestead would sing over 
again to us the lullabys that our sweet mother's 
voice crooned to us in our childhood days. Do 
not these things explain how it is that some 
authors are able to write of the secrets of na- 
ture? They have simply gotten into tune with 
nature, and have been able to catch her vibra- 
tions and translate them into sweet melodies. 
The poet of nature sings the harmonies he hears, 
nothing more. 

The history of Psychometry as a science is 
brief, for only a few years have passed since its 



PSYCHOMETRY. 13^ 



discovery, however, the history is much shorter 
than the facts, for it has existed from the be- 
ginning of time. It was discovered by Professor 
Denton, who found a Sensitive in his wife. When 
a piece of rock was placed in the lady's hand she 
was able to interpret its geologic history 
and describe and draw pictures of the animals 
living at the place and time of its formation. 
The animals were unknown to natural history 
when the lady's descriptions were given, but 
fossil remains have been found since which ver- 
ify her statements. Many other investigators 
have experimented with Sensitives since and 
their results serve to confirm the conclusions 
reached by Professor Denton. The facts of 
Psychometry have remained much the same, but 
their application has been greatly extended 
since that time. The Psychometrist now finds 
many applicants for his services and he usually 
gives value received for his fees. His work is 
not only interesting and wonderful, but it is also 
useful. 

The Psychometrist, like other Psychics, is the 
result of development. Natural endowment has 
much to do with the development, sometimes 
very little effort or practice is sufficient to enable 
him to become a Sensitive. Undoubtedly all 
have more or less psychometric powers, that is, 



138 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



are sensitive to vibratory impressions which 
come from places and things, and if they took 
the trouble to study themselves they would ap- 
preciate this fact. It is true that places and 
things have tendencies to stimulate or depress 
us, and it is fair to suppose that these tendencies 
are due to the vibratory emanations from them. 
The world is everywhere vocal with messages 
for him who has ears to hear and the meaning 
of Psychometry will be understood when man 
learns to attend to these voices. 

Hypnotism furnishes a means of developing 
psychometric power, as has often been shown by 
experimentation. Hypnotics often surprise us 
by exhibiting these supersensuous faculties. 
Most of the experience that I have had with 
Psychometry has been had with persons in 
hypnosis, some of which will be recorded pres- 
ently. First, let us consider the phenomena 
observed 

IN THE WAKING STATE. 

The basis and history of Psychometry would 
seem to promise a wide usefulness for it. Psy- 
chometrists themselves see no limit to its ap- 
plication. In minerology and mining it would 
seem to be of considerable value ; experiments 
show that a psychometric reading of a specimen 



PSYCHOMETRY. 139 



from a lead will not only give the value and 
character of the ore it contains, but also describe 
the direction of the vein and locate deposits. 
However, it is manifest that a knowledge of 
minerology and mining must be added to the 
Sensitive's power, otherwise the expediency of 
working the lead might not be justified by the 
output. A number of cases of these mineral 
Psychometrists are on record; recently my at- 
tention was called to one of unusual interest. 
The lady could not only describe the lead and 
value from a specimen but was peculiarly af- 
fected when walking upon a ledge containing 
ore. The first sensation felt was a weakness in 
the knees, followed by a loss of the power of 
locomotion, then a loss of the power of speech, 
and finally a loss of consciousness if she con- 
tinued upon the ledge. The degree of the influ- 
ence was in proportion to the richness of the 
ledge in mineral. Mr. A. T. Robinson, who de- 
scribes the case, says : 

"In reading a piece of ore an electric or 
magnetic current seems to travel from the ore 
up to the brain. If the ore be very rich the 
current is correspondingly strong and vice 
versa. The currents from various pieces of ore 
vary not only quantitatively or in strength, but 
also qualitatively, copper and lead ore producing 



140 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



sensations very different from those of gold, sil- 
ver or iron. The 'current/ when it reaches her 
brain seems to dam back for the time the flood 
of her own thoughts, so that, while she is con- 
scious of her environment, she is not at liberty 
to use her own faculties or to utter anything 
other than the message given her." 

The above case, Madam X., as she is called, 
seems to show the value of a Sensitive in min- 
ing experiments and undoubtedly many unprof- 
itable mining ventures might be changed into 
profitable ones by the advice of such a Psy- 
chometrist. 

Much is claimed for Psychometry as an aid in 
medicine and surgery. In the hands of a com- 
petent Sensitive it is said to be practically infalli- 
ble. A lock of the patient's hair is placed in the 
Sensitive's hand, with the result that he is able 
to give a correct reading of the case. The dis- 
ease is accurately described, both cause and 
course being given and a diagnosis promptly 
made. At least one such case has come under 
my observation that was afterward verified. A 
tubercular focus in the brain was located. The 
Psychometrist had no knowledge of cerebral 
anatomy and was obliged to locate the focus by 
telling its relative distances from the surface of 
the cranium. If this faculty can be so developed 



PSYCHOMETRY. 141 



that it may be perfectly controlled and relied 
upon it would be invaluable in diagnosis. It 
looks as if the mind is likely to become more 
penetrating in its perception than the X-Ray, 
the microscope or spectroscope. Hasten the 
day! 

A piece of olive wood from the Mount of 
Olives was placed into the hand of a young man 
Sensitive, who immediately began to discourse 
upon the life of Jesus. He spoke of His passing 
over the hill on his way to Bethany, told of His 
eating and intercourse with the family at 
Bethany, and then told in some detail of the 
raising of Lazarus from the dead. It is possible 
that this last case may have been telepathic in 
its nature, for all of the above data were well 
known to me. This case illustrates what I have 
often observed in Sensitives, namely, that they 
generally give in their readings the things that 
seem most important to them. The boy was of 
a religious character and so the Christian asso- 
ciations of the piece of wood were the ones that 
were detailed, although there were doubtless 
many other associations, that might have been 
revealed. 

The past is all that the Psychometrist concerns 
himself with. For him the past lives again in the 
present as he reads the historical records. The 



142 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



Psychometrist indulges in no predictions, or if 
he does he does so on his own responsibility, for 
the history of the future remains to be recorded. 
Many so called Psychometrists indulge in "for- 
tune telling," claiming to be able to tell past, 
present and future. The past and present may 
be told by the competent Sensitive, but of the 
future no man can speak with certainty. It is 
always a guess no matter who foretells it. To 
the untaught it seems possible for one who can 
actually tell the past and present also to predict 
the future, but in the very nature of the case 
it is impossible to foretell events where free 
moral agency is concerned. The most that can 
be done is to state probabilities, and a real Psy- 
chometrist will confess this fact. 

These remarks are made because certain un- 
scrupulous persons are practicing deception and 
bringing Psychometry into disrepute. More 
than that, they often do serious harm to those 
who consult them by inspiring false hopes and 
impossible expectations. Naturally the one who 
pays a fee for a reading takes the matter seri- 
ously, and when the past has been faithfully told 
concludes that the predictions of the future are 
equally true. These predictions which are sim- 
ply guesses, at most, often rob the unsuspecting 
of their peace of mind by making them dissatis- 



PSYCHOMETRY. 143 



fied with their present conditions and as uncer- 
tain of their future. These things ought not to 
so be. Now, let us consider the phenomena 
produced 

IN HYPNOSIS. 

Sensitives developed by Hypnotism do not 
differ in their results from those developed by 
other means except in the fact that they speak 
while in a hypnotic trance. Other Psychome- 
trists rarely if ever go into trances to produce 
their phenomena; they simply become passive 
and sensitive to the vibratory emanations from 
objects. 

One evening I placed a little souvenir from 
Niagara Falls into the hand of a young lady 
Sensitive and asked her to tell us what impres- 
sions she felt. 

"It is cold and wet," she said, shivering. "The 
water comes down in such great volumes that it 
roars like thunder and its spray is making me 
wet," and she drew her skirts about her as if 
she were actually being sprinkled by the spray. 

And then she went on and gave a description 
of the Falls that anyone who had seen them 
would have recognized at once. She spoke as if 
she were on the Canadian side below the Great 
Horseshoe Fall, and told of the great height 



144 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



from which the water fell and the boiling, seeth- 
ing vortex into which it plunged. I told her 
that she would remember the experience after 
she came out of the hypnosis, and when she 
came out of it she said it was a most realistic 
experience. 

Some months later she paid a visit to Niagara 
Falls and at my advice went to the place where 
she seemed to be standing in her hypnotic ex- 
perience, and subsequently assured me that the 
scene from that point was quite familiar to her 
and just what she had seen while in the hypnosis. 
She had never been to the Falls before the ex- 
periment, but I had, and it is possible that she 
got her information by telepathy from me, but 
wherever she got the picture undoubtedly the 
souvenir had some psychometric influence and 
at least called up the scene. Beside, other ex- 
periments proved her sensitiveness to such im- 
pressions. 

Many other examples of psychometric power 
are at hand and might be given, but they would 
only be repetitions of what has already been 
stated and illustrated. However, there is an- 
other phase of the subject which should not be 
omitted, namely, the psychic atmosphere of 
countries. It is claimed by Psychometrists who 
have traveled widely that every country has its 



PSYCHOMETRY. 145 



characteristic psychic atmosphere. Immediately 
upon setting foot upon the soil of a country he 
is impressed with its atmosphere. Frequently I 
have been informed that the psychometric im- 
pressions are quite different from what the po- 
litical and social conditions of the country would 
give to the ordinary observer. 

It would be interesting to have occasionally 
the psychometric readings of the various coun- 
tries of the world in a published form so that 
we might compare them. America is thought 
by many to stand first in psychic matters, but 
it is only first in possibilities, not developments. 
Undoubtedly a few of the foremost Psychics of 
the world are found in the United States, and 
they are the prophets of the future, but the na- 
tion taken as a whole is sadly lacking. How- 
ever, we are assured that America is the field 
where the great battles of thought are to be 
fought out. We are glad it is so ! 

Psychometry deserves a fuller and better pre- 
sentation, but it is impossible at present to make 
more than tentative statements. It needs and is 
receiving everywhere careful study and conscien- 
tious students may be trusted to find and place 
it upon its proper footing. Enough has already 
been learned about it to make it certain that there 
is much in it. Some go so far as to say that 



146 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



everything is in it, that it is the beginning of 
a new era, when man, like his Creator, shall be- 
come omniscient. 

The subconscious faculties, namely, Telepathy, 
Clairvoyance, Clairaudience and Psychometry, 
are doors opening into the great store-house of 
knowledge that were not dreamed of a few years 
ago. They seem to indicate a psychic develop- 
ment which points to the evolution of man to his 
highest possible perfection when he shall know 
even as he is known by intuition or immediate 
knowledge. Let us follow out these beginnings, 
develop our latent powers, and become what it is 
our privilege to be, Men. 



CHAPTER IX. 

SLEEP AND DREAMS. 

The importance of the subject — Sleep and Dreams com- 
mon to man and animals — The cause of errors — 
Sleep — "Nature's sweet restorer" — Definitions — 
Physiology versus Psychology in sleep — Sleep a 
subconscious condition — An experiment showing 
the relation of Sleep to Hypnosis — The key to the 
Phenomena of Sleep — Dreams — The ancient concep- 
tion of Dreams — The "stuff that Dreams are made 
of" — Dreams defined — The causation of Dreams — 
Physiologic Causes — Psychologic causes — An An- 
cient illustration— A Suggested Dream — Telepathic 
Dreams — A Clairvoyant Dream — The influence of a 
room or place — The meaning and value of Dreams — 
The study of Dreams. 

Psychic Research offers no subject for study 
more important or less understood than Sleep 
and its phenomena. That men and animals peri- 
odically lie down to rest and fall into somnolent 
conditions has been observed by men from the 
earliest times. It is only the unusual and myste- 
rious that attracts much attention. Sleep was 
not sufficiently unusual to excite inquiry or mys- 
terious enough to stimulate study. With Dreams 
147 



148 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



it was different and so Sleep was overlooked 
while the Dreams were wondered at. It was 
much like neglecting to observe the foundation 
in the admiration of the superstructure of the 
building; although the former is the condition 
that renders the latter possible. Let us make 
no such blunder in the study of Sleep and 
Dreams. Let us first examine the foundation, 
Sleep, and then turn our attention to the super- 
structure, Dreams. The basis is 

SLEEP. 

Sleep has been considered by most writers up 
to date simply as a period of rest in which the 
physical organs and mental faculties pass into a 
state of relaxation and inactivity and has been 
appropriately called "nature's sweet restorer." It 
has been defined as a state of quiescence or som- 
nolence, characterized by a condition of partial 
or complete unconsciousness, in which the body 
becomes relaxed and the bodily functions greatly 
reduced. This definition grew out of a physio- 
logic study in which the mind was considered 
the product of the brain. It was based upon the 
observation of a double nervous mechanism, 
namely, the voluntary, including the cerebro- 
spinal axis, and the involuntary, including the 
chains of sympathetic ganglia. And from their 



SLEEP AND DREAMS. 149 



position its definition served well enough, for 
they considered the involuntary or subconscious 
activities of the mind, reflex or automatic. With 
the psychologic study it is different, for it con- 
siders the brain the organ of the mind and recog- 
nizes the duality of the mind. It is precisely in 
a failure to recognize this double consciousness 
that the old definitions fail. The fact of double 
consciousness has been explained and illustrated 
in a previous chapter and may be referred to. 

Sleep is a state of bodily relaxation and quies- 
cence, but not a condition of partial or complete 
unconsciousness. That it is not an unconscious 
condition it is very easy to prove by calling at- 
tention to the numerous instances on record 
where difficult problems have been solved and 
intricate plans for scientific work laid out 
during periods of profound sleep. It is a 
subconscious condition. It may be defined as 
a natural subconscious state similar to the in- 
duced subconscious state, hypnosis. It should 
be recognized as a definite phase of personality 
with its distinctive characteristics and not sim- 
ply as an absence of waking activities as ft is so 
often conceived. Natural and induced Sleep are 
so similar that an understanding of one aids 
greatly in the understanding of the other. They 
differ only in one particular, namely, attention. 



150 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



A person in natural Sleep attends to his own 
cerebrations, that is, he is in rapport with him- 
self while a person in hypnosis attends to the 
suggestions of the Hypnotist, that is, he is in 
rapport with another. That attention is the only 
difference between natural and induced Sleep is 
clearly shown by the following experiment : 

One evening during my lecture a young lady 
seated in a high-back easy chair fell asleep and 
served as an object lesson of what I had just been 
talking. I approached her and addressed her in 
a subdued tone of voice as follows : 

"You are having a restful nap and will not 
awaken until I tell you to do so. You hear me 
plainly and will understand and do what I com- 
mand you." 

Thus I insinuated myself into her attention 
without waking her and was able to make sug- 
gestions to her just as I could have done if she 
had been hypnotized in the usual manner. She 
responded perfectly to every test of hypnosis. No 
man can tell though he watch with the utmost 
care when a person passes from natural to in- 
duced Sleep or the reverse. 

Attention is the line of demarkation and 
whether one has that or not can only be told by 
addressing the subject. Hypnotism adds one 
more to its long list of credits in furnishing the 



SLEEP AND DREAMS. 151 



key to the solution of the phenomena of Sleep. 
The knowledge that Sleep is a subconscious and 
not an unconscious state simplifies matters great- 
ly as will appear in the discussion of Dreams. 
We are now ready to pass to the consideration 
of 

DREAMS. 

Anciently Dreams were considered to be earth- 
ly experiences with heavenly meanings, but the 
fanciful conceptions of Dreams belong to the 
past. Psychology recognizes that waking 
thoughts and Dreams are similar phenomena. 
We Dream while awake and think while asleep. 
The waking experiences are properly called vis- 
ions, the sleeping ones, Dreams. The "stuff that 
Dreams are made of" is substantial although 
frequently incoherently joined together. Fancy 
and imaginations play their parts in all states of 
the mind. In conscious state fantastic imagina- 
tions are not wanting, but in Dreams and other 
subconscious states they are more common be- 
cause the reasoning faculty and the will are set 
aside. 

Dreams may be defined as the subconscious 
activities of the mind during Sleep. They may 
be partially or completely remembered or they 
may be completely forgotten when the person 
returns to the waking consciousness. In this re- 



152 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



spect Dreams are like experiences had in hyp- 
nosis. In the lighter states of hypnosis the sub- 
ject remembers more or less distinctly all of his 
experiences, but in the profound states amnesia 
or forgetfulness of the experiences is the rule. 
The same is true of Sleep, the Dreams of a light 
restless Sleep are more or less clearly remem- 
bered, but those experienced in profound Sleep 
are often forgotten. The explanation is simple. 
The states of consciousness offer the explana- 
tion. The experiences of the subconscious state 
are with difficulty raised above the floor of ordi- 
nary consciousness, so it is only the experiences 
had on the borderland of consciousness that are 
within reach. 

The causations of Dreams are as numerous, 
and the same as the causes of thought and it 
should be borne in mind that it is the same mind 
that is operating, no matter what state of con- 
sciousness it is in. Thoughts are caused in two 
ways in the waking state and in like manner 
Dreams are caused in the same two ways during 
Sleep. The causes are Physiologic and Psy- 
chologic. Let us consider them separately. 

The physiologic causes of Dreams are those 
which reach the mind through the physical or- 
ganism. They may originate within or from 
without the body. Those which have their or- 



SLEEP AND DREAMS. 153 



igin within the body are generally due to uncom- 
fortable or painful conditions. An overloaded 
stomach, an uncomfortable bed and disease are 
examples of these causes. We have all had rest- 
less, dreamful nights after eating a hearty sup- 
per late. Soldiers and others obliged to sleep 
upon the hard ground usually have Dreams ; this 
explains why it is that so many battle-field 
Dreams are recorded. Sometimes unsuspected 
diseases are revealed by the Dreams they cause. 
The Dreams that have their origin from physical 
stimuli from without the body are those which 
come through the special senses. For example, 
a shot heard during sleep may cause the sleeper 
to dream of an encounter with a burglar and of 
firing a shot at him. The whole Dream being 
fabricated between the time of hearing the shot 
and awaking, which was practically instantane- 
ous. It has been observed that time and space 
in Dreams are inconsiderable, a moment of time 
as we measure it is long enough for a sleeper 
to dream long detailed experiences extending 
over long stretches of time and space. Probably 
the same is true of those dreaming as occurs 
with persons drowning, in an instant of time the 
whole history of their past lives is flashed in 
full detail before the mind's eye. Exposure to 
heat or cold will likewise cause Dreams. 



154 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



One evening I made the following experiment : 
A fellow-student fell asleep on the couch in my 
room and I approached him while sleeping and 
held a lighted lamp near his face. He soon be- 
came restless and finally turned over, thus re- 
moving his face from the light and heat. After 
replacing the lamp upon the table I awakened 
him and asked him of what he had been dream- 
ing. He said that he had dreamed of a con- 
flagration. It should be observed that the causal 
relationship of Dreams is not marked, especially 
in those having their cause within the body. 
Their cause being discomfort they usually result 
in distressful Dreams. More often those caused 
by outside stimuli result in Dreams similar to the 
cause; for example, music causes dreaming of 
music. 

The Psychologic causes of Dreams are those 
which reach the mind independently of the phys- 
ical organism. They may originate within or 
from without the mind. Those which have their 
cause within the mind have the same causation 
as do thoughts in the waking state and are con- 
trolled by the association of ideas. Examples 
of these are found in the various states of mind, 
as in expectation, anxiety and fear. It is well 
known that expectation has much to do with 
many Dreams. The ancients knew this, and the 



SLEEP AND DREAMS. 155 



priests used to instruct such persons to sleep 
on the floors of the temples, so that the gods 
might come to them in Sleep and tell them how 
they might be cured. The result was that fre- 
quently the sufferers would Dream of remedies 
such as were known to their untutored minds 
and in the morning go and prepare the simples 
of which they had dreamed, take them and re- 
cover their health. 

A lady who feared for the safety of a missing 
brother who had not been heard from for a long 
time dreamed three times at short intervals that 
she saw him dead, but a short time thereafter he 
returned alive and well. It appears that fear 
and anxiety are fertile causes of Dreams and es- 
pecially of vague and unmeaning ones. The 
value and meaning of Dreams will be considered 
presently. 

Those which have their causes from without 
the mind are due to Suggestion, Thought Trans- 
ference and the other supersensuous faculties. 
The briefest and best way to explain and illus- 
trate this class of Dreams will be to give exam- 
ples and experiments. Let us adopt that method. 

Suggestion, especially Hypno-Suggestion, is 
an important cause for dreaming because it fur- 
nishes a means of study of the Dreams that it 
causes. I have frequently made experiments 



156 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



with hypnotized persons similar to the following : 
A young man in hypnosis was told that he would 
have a peculiar Dream the following night, that 
he would dream that he was out in the woods in 
the winter time far away from civilization and 
that he was attacked by wolves, that .he escaped 
from them by climbing a tree, and that he was 
finally rescued by an Indian girl. I saw him a 
few days later and he voluntarily told me of the 
Dream which he distinctly remembered as hav- 
ing occurred as detailed above. The converse 
is also true. Those who are annoyed by grue- 
some and distressing Dreams may be relieved 
from them by suggestion. 

Autosuggestion, in like manner, is responsible 
for many Dream experiences ; indeed, many are 
able to very accurately direct their dreaming. In 
this cause is found the explanation of many of 
the so-called astral exploits. These will be more 
fully considered in the next chapter. 

Doubtless the most fruitful cause for this class 
of Dreams is Telepathy. In Sleep the subcon- 
scious mind with its supersensuous intelligence 
catches the thought vibrations that come from all 
directions many of which find lodgment and set 
up trains of dreaming. Sometimes they are 
remembered as visual and at other times audi- 
tory experiences. The visual type is shown in 



SLEEP AND DREAMS. 157 



the well-known experience of the English gentle* 
man, which is as follows: 

One evening he fell asleep upon a couch and 
while he slept he seemed to see his brother sit- 
ting upon a chair beside the couch. He was 
surprised at seeing him there and spoke to him 
whereupon the brother nodded his head and dis- 
appeared. The Dream so startled him that he 
awoke and his brother's presence seemed so real 
that he hunted about the house to find him, but 
being unable to do so gave up the search and 
went to bed. Subsequently he learned that his 
brother had been thrown from a horse while 
hunting a little prior to the Dream, sustaining 
injuries from which he soon died. 

An example of the telepathic experiences in 
which the thought took on an auditory character 
occurred in my own family. One morning my 
mother told us at the breakfast table that she 
had had a strange Dream the night before. While 
asleep she had distinctly heard the voice of my 
absent brother call "Mother! Mother!" and it 
had so startled her as to awaken her. She was 
much worried about the experience and with rea- 
son for a few days later my brother was brought 
home suffering from typhoid fever. Sick in a 
strange city, he had wanted her and undoubtedly 
uttered the words which my mother heard. Pos- 
sibly this is a case of Clairaudience. 



158 THE PSYCHIC AND PSVCHISM. 



Clairvoyant Dreams are not uncommon with 
some people, perhaps many Dreams are due to 
that cause. Here is the example of one which 
came under my notice. About a year ago a lady 
visiting in this city, during an afternoon nap 
dreamed that she saw an accident happen to her 
children, whom she had left at home in the care 
of her sister. In her Sleep she seemed to see 
them at their play and as they chased each other 
through the house both of them fell through an 
open cellar door. As she saw them disappear 
through the door she awakened with a sudden 
scream. When her friends who heard her scream 
asked her the cause of it she told trfem of her 
Dream. Later it developed that the children haO 
fallen into the cellar just as she had seen them 
in her Dream, but fortunately they were neither 
of them much hurt. 

I have observed that surrounding psychic 
atmosphere may cause psychometric Dreams. 
The receptive dream consciousness catches the 
psychic atmosphere of the room or place. The 
following experience was told me confidentially 
by one of my patients : On the first of May, like 
many of our good people, he had moved into a 
strange house, and before they had gotten fairly 
settled he had a series of Dreams. Almost every 
night he had a most realistic Dream in which he 
seemed to see a middle-aged lady walking up and 



SLEEP AND DREAMS. 



159 



down the room wringing her hands or running 
them frantically through her hair as though she 
were almost beside herself with anxiety and grief. 
This occurred several times, but after the room 
was repainted and papered the Dreams ceased. 
I was much interested and after careful inquiry 
learned that the room had been occupied by a 
mother who was almost distracted by the run- 
ning away of her young lady daughter. 

Many other classes of Dreams are found in 
works on this subject. Some of them more 
strange and inexplicable than those recorded 
above. Among these are prophetic Dreams, 
much of which has been written, much I am 
afraid that is untrue. It has been my aim to 
write of the things that I know something about. 
This is not prophetic Dreams. Not a little time 
has been given to the study of such Dreams, but 
without reaching a position of probability, not 
to say certainty concerning them. The evidence 
submitted is unsatisfactory and inconclusive and 
I have had no first hand experience with them. 
No one would like to believe in prophecy more 
than I, but in my judgment the future is a sealed 
book only known as it becomes the present. 
Something more will be said of prescience in the 
closing chapter. 

The meaning and value of Dreams are subjects 



160 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



that need careful consideration. It is plain that 
the old scientific statement that "all Dreams are 
profitless'' is not true. For while it is doubtless 
true that many Dreams are vain, fanciful, inco- 
herent fabrications, it is equally true that some 
Dreams accurately record the truth. It is wrong 
to consider every Dream a Divine revelation, but 
it is quite as wrong to consider every Dream 
a meaningless fancy. Discrimination must be 
made and happy the one who has learned rightly 
to discriminate. Each one must study his own 
Dreams if he would know what they mean. The 
question is frequently asked, "How may we 
study our Dreams?" It is a difficult question 
and I have often put it to others. Let me give 
one of the answers received. 

An old gentleman friend of mine who knows 
much about Dreams told me his method of study. 
On awaking in the morning before moving or 
even opening his eyes, he used to spend a little 
time recalling the Dreams of the previous night. 
He found that by so doing he was able to get 
hold of the final end of his dreaming which he 
was enabled to unravel by following back the 
chain of dream ideas and experiences. Others 
who have used this method have found it useful 
and I offer it for what it is worth. 

Dreams are usually soon forgotten because 



SLEEP AND DREAMS. 161 



they are subconscious experiences and tend to 
sink back below the floor of waking conscious- 
ness even when partially above it. The above 
method will aid in bringing them into distinct 
and conscious memory. Another aid in remem- 
bering Dreams is the use of suggestion. Hyp- 
notized subjects can readily be made to recall for- 
gotten Dreams and by posthypnotic suggestion 
enabled to remember future Dream experiences. 
By autosuggestion one may do for himself all 
that can be done for him by another. Many per- 
sons by repeated autosuggestions have become 
able to remember practically all of their dream 
experiences. A friend told me that he found 
much pleasure daily in recalling and studying 
the Dreams of the previous night. It is hoped 
that enough has been said above to stimulate a 
renewed interest in Dreams in the minds of my 
readers. The study of Dreams cannot fail to be 
interesting and profitable. The vagaries of the 
past must give place to the facts of the future. 
Let us pass on to the subject of Somnambulism 
and Trances. 



CHAPTER X. 

SOMNAMBULISM AND TRANCES. 

The Subconscious States — The Eastern classifications 
of them — Somnambulism — It belongs to the phe- 
nomena of Sleep — Definition — Natural Somnam- 
bulism — Two examples of Sleep-walking — Professor 
McClure's opinion — Morbid Somnambulism — The 
case of a French lady — Artificial Somnambulism 
— Hypnotic experiments — The power of divination — 
Amnesia — Trances — Kinds of Trances — Definition 
— Spontaneous Trances — "Wrapped into visions" 
— Autotrances — They are self-induced and self- 
limited — The profound Trances of the Yogis — 
Harides test — Trances and Theosophy — The Eng- 
lish Teacher — Induced Trances — Suggestion in 
Trances — The unreliability of Trance revelations — 
Spiritistic Trances — Mediums hypnotized by Spirits 
— Does the soul leave the body? 

The subconscious states of mind include two 
more, Somnambulism and Trances, similar to 
Sleep, which demand a brief discussion. In our 
discussions the states of consciousness have been 
considered as including two groups, namely, 
conscious and subconscious conditions. Every- 
thing beyond the limit of ordinary consciousness 
163 



164 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 

has been grouped under the subconscious divi- 
sions. The Eastern teachers and philosophers 
and those who follow them make a three-fold 
classification of consciousness as follows: i. 
Subconscious; 2. Conscious, and 3. Supercon- 
scious states. Because animals in common with 
man pass into some subconscious states as Sleep 
they consider such states as below ordinary con- 
sciousness and hence call them subconscious to 
differentiate them from states that seem to be 
above the plane of ordinary consciousness which 
they call superconscious. The distinction is 
rather artificial than real and of no particular aid 
in understanding the phenomena under consid- 
eration. Somnambulism and Trances are dis- 
tinct subconscious, although similar states, and 
will be discussed separately. Let us first con- 
sider 

SOMNAMBULISM. 

Somnembulism belongs to the phenomena of 
sleep and may be defined as a state of mind, oc- 
curing during sleep, which causes or favors the 
performance of actions peculiar to the waking 
state, as walking, talking, working and the like. 
It is commonly known as sleep-walking because 
the persun arises from his bed during sleep and 
often, leaving the house by a window or door, 



SOMNAMBULISM AND TRANCES. 165 



goes out upon the street. There are three types 
of Somnambulism recognized depending upon 
the causes. They are: i. Natural. 2. Morbid. 
3. Artificial Somnambulism. 

NATURAL SOMNAMBULISM. 

Natural Somnambulism occurs during natural 
sleep, that is, it is preceded and followed by sleep. 
The cause appears to be a condition of mind sim- 
ilar to dreaming, with this difference, that the 
Somnambulist carries his dreams into action. If 
he remembers the occurrence as he sometimes 
does the dreaming and doing are so blended that 
the whole is to him simply a dream. However, 
the rule is forgetfulness or amnesia and he only 
knows of his exploits by the testimony of others 
together with the evidences that remain of what 
he did during the subconscious state. The fol- 
lowing is a fair example of natural Somnambu- 
lism: 

One night recently in my own home, a twelve- 
year-old girl arose from her bed while asleep 
and went to the window and tried to open it. She 
was heard while trying to open the window and 
asked what she was doing. 

"I am trying to open the window," she said. 

"What do you want to' open the window for ?" 
was asked. 



166 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



"I have four fours in my mind ana want to 
throw one of them away," was the reply. 

She had been playing cards before going to 
bed and evidently had fallen asleep while think- 
ing of the game, with the result that she dreamed 
of playing cards and carried the dream into 
action as described above. 

She was called to the bedside by the lady who 
slept in the same room and further questioned. 
The child declared that she was awake and pro- 
tested when shaken for the purpose of waking 
her. It was impossible to wake her and so she 
was sent back to her own bed. She got into bed 
and was directed to cover herself up well, which 
she did. 

"Are you awake?" was asked. 

"Yes, of course I am awake," she answered, 
petulantly. 

"What have you got in your hand?" she was 
then asked. 

"Four fours," was the prompt reply. 

The above case is interesting in several par- 
ticulars. It illustrates the persistence of the idea 
which dominates the Somnambulist and acts as 
a suggestion in directing his action. It also il- 
lustrates a fact that is somewhat unusual, name- 
ly, the Somnambulist may respond to questions 
while sleep-walking. Moreover, it illustrates the 



SOMNAMBULISM AND TRANCES. 167 



fact of forgetfulness which is common to most 
cases, for in the morning the girl had no memory 
of her experience of the night before. Let me 
cite another recent case: 

Unable to remember how he reached his des- 
tination, or when he had begun his midnight 
journey, a student at the Lake Forest academy 
who retired to his bed in the academy dormitory 
with rheumatism Friday afternoon, awoke Satur- 
day morning to find himself sixteen miles distant, 
wrapped in blankets, lying on the seat of his 
father's carriage in the stable in the rear of his 
home at Loon Lake, Wis. 

With the exception of 15 cents with which the 
student is supposed to have paid his carfare from 
Lake Forest to Waukegan, nothing of value in 
his pockets had been disturbed. 

President McClure of the Lake Forest uni- 
versity said : 

"The strange actions of the student have been 
the cause of considerable excitement among 
members of the faculty. There is no doubt that 
he walked from Waukegan to his home in a semi- 
conscious condition. It is my opinion that it 
was a peculiar case of Somnambulism, although 
he had been sick and may have been brought to 
an unconscious state on this account/' 

The Somnambulist often performs unusual 



168 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



feats such as would be impossible in his natural 
state. He climbs to dizzy heights and walks 
with ease and certainty of step, if undisturbed, 
marvelous to behold. Not only are his physical 
abilities increased, but this increase is even more 
marked in his mental power. Many examples 
have been recorded illustrating the heightened 
powers of mind. Not infrequently Somnambu- 
lists work out problems which have baffled them 
in their waking hours and do literary work of a 
surprising character. The sense perceptions are 
so acute that we are led to believe that the Som- 
nambulist depends upon his supersensuous fac- 
ulties in many of his feats. 

MORBID SOMNAMBULISM. 

Morbid Somnambulism occurs during patho- 
logic conditions. While it is spontaneous in 
character it differs from Somnambulism in oc- 
curing independently of sleep. It is an exalted 
state of mind in which the soul stimulates the or- 
ganism, which is weakened by disease, into un- 
usual activities. Ideas take possession of the 
mind, as in natural Somnambulism, causing 
dreams which are carried into action, if the pa- 
tient is not restrained. The exaltation of mind 
is similar to that which precedes certain forms of 
insanity. The hallucinations are very persistent, 



SOMNAMBULISM AND TRANCES. 169 



in some cases lasting for weeks with lucid pe- 
riods. Unusual keenness of perception is the 
rule and as in other forms of Somnambulism un- 
usual physical and mental feats are performed. 
A discussion of disease conditions is beyond the 
scope of this work. So no more need be said 
upon this topic ; however, a single example may 
be given. 

A French young lady with hysteric tendencies 
one night awakened her maid, sleeping in the 
next room, by moans and faint cries. She was 
found by the maid crouching upon the floor be- 
hind a large easy chair and declared when ques- 
tioned that a man had been in the room and 
beaten her. Then she ran to the window and de- 
clared that she could see him going down the 
street, although no one was visible to the maid, 
who was standing beside her. On the following 
day she told the story of the assault with full de- 
tails and named a young man acquaintance as 
the assailant. She even exhibited ecchymosed 
spots and bruises as evidence of the blows she 
had received. The whole affair was proven to 
be the hallucination of a Somnambulist. The 
discoloration and bruises were doubtless pro- 
duced by the influence of the mind, as many sim- 
ilar conditions are on record. Sometimes Som- 
nambulists of this class have accused innocent 



170 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



persons of serious offenses while dominated by 
such hallucinations. The accused have sonic- 
times found it difficult to exonerate themselves 
because of the persistent and apparently honest 
testimony of the accuser. 

ARTIFICIAL SOMNAMBULISM. 

Artificial Somnambulism differs from the for- 
mer varieties, in that it is induced by another 
person. Hypnotic Somnambulism furnishes a 
means for the study and understanding of nat- 
ural and morbid Somnambulism, for it is pro- 
duced at will and may be carefully studied. It 
includes all of the phenomena peculiar to those 
varieties and differs from them only in the tact 
that it is produced by artificial means. The pei- 
son passes into the subconscious state in which 
he is dominated by ideas not suggested by the 
dream consciousness, or a morbid state of mind, 
but by the person who has hypnotized him. An 
example will be the easiest way to make this 
plain. 

A young man was hypnotized and readily 
passed into a somnambulic state, in which it was 
possible to easily produce all of the phenomena 
observed in Somnambulism. He exhibited un- 
usual physical powers and walked, talked and 
performed feats as directed. Upon receiving the 



SOMNAMBULISM AND TRANCES. 171 



suggestion that he was fishing, he went through 
all of the motions of fishing, using a cane for a 
fish pole. When given the suggestion that he 
was a noted musician he went to the piano and 
played music that he was unable to execute while 
he was awake. Upon receiving the suggestion 
that he was the Mayor of the city and was presid- 
ing at a meeting of the city council, he arose and 
outlined his policy as Mayor, in a dignified and 
impressive manner. When given the suggestion 
that the house was on fire he opened the window 
and prepared to descend to the ground by means 
of the fire escape. He was handed a glove and 
asked to tell to whom it belonged by the sense ot 
smell and readily did so by passing along the 
line formed of the persons present smelling of 
their hands one after another. Many other ex- 
periments were made with this subject, but space 
forbids the multiplication of details. In short, he 
showed conclusively that his mind was in a state 
of exaltation which rendered his perceptive pow- 
ers unusually acute. 

The Hypnotic Somnambulist can readily duplf- 
cate any of the feats performed by those in states 
of natural or morbid Somnambulism and he 
thereby offers the key to the solution and un- 
derstanding of their phenomena. A study of all 
of the phenomena of hypnosis is necessary to a 



172 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



thorough understanding of the subject and the 
reader is advised to make such a study, but it 
must be made in books devoted to a considera- 
tion of Hypnotism. Space forbids an extended 
discussion here. However, the statement of a 
few conclusions may be made. 

The power of divination exhibited by Som- 
nambulists is probably due to their unusual keen- 
ness of perception which enables them to reason 
from a larger body of evidence than is at their 
command while awake. Undoubtedly they often 
are able to use their supersensuous faculties in 
seeing, hearing and knowing things beyond the 
range of the physical senses which proves the 
Somnambulist to be a Psychic. 

Amnesia or forgetfulness of experiences had 
during Somnambulism is the rule, but in subse- 
quent states of Somnambulism the memory is 
restored. This seems to show that the mem- 
ories remain below the floor of ordinary con- 
sciousness when a person returns to the normal 
state. Artificial Somnambulists may be made to 
remember all of their experiences by suggestion, 
which seems to prove that the memories are in 
the mind, but beyond the reach of the ordinary 
consciousness. 

The close relationship between Artificial Som- 
nambulism and Trances will appear as we discuss 



SOMNAMBULISM AND TRANCES. 173 



the latter. In both, Hypnotism furnishes the 
clue which enables us to understand them. Let 
us now turn our attention to 

TRANCES. 

Trances occur under several conditions, but in 
general they are much alike and may be grouped 
under one definition. However, the old idea 
that they are unconscious states must be aban- 
doned, for they are not unconscious but subcon- 
scious states in which the body is usually relaxed 
and its functional activities greatly depressed. 
Prolonged, profound natural sleep from which 
a person cannot be awakened is sometimes called 
a Trance, but while it exhibits most of the char- 
acteristics of a Trance, strictly speaking it is not 
one; it is truly a trance-like sleep. The soul is 
thought by some to leave the body during 
Trances, but this is probably untrue. 

A Trance is a subconscious state, in which a 
person appears insensible to the external sur- 
roundings, and in which the volitional powers 
and vital functions are greatly lowered or sus- 
pended. It may be greatly prolonged and simu- 
late death. Three varieties of Trances are ob- 
served, depending upon their causation, namely: 
I. Spontaneous. 2. Self-induced or auto and 3. 
Induced Trances. These will be considered sep- 
arately. 



174 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



SPONTANEOUS TRANCES. 

Spontaneous Trances occur under various 
conditions, but chiefly in hysterical persons. The 
causes are not well known, but are probably the 
same as those which produce the hysterical neu- 
rosis. They result from spontaneous changes in 
the mind similar to those which occur in pro- 
found hypnosis, so they must result from psychic 
causes. They could hardly be called disease con- 
ditions, although they frequently occur after pro- 
longed illnesses, as after typhoid fever. They 
may last from a few hours to several months. 
The appearance of a person in a Trance is char- 
acteristic and marked, the face is usually pale and 
expressionless, the body relaxed and the bodily 
functions greatly lowered. The pulse and res- 
piration are barely perceptible and sometimes ap- 
parently suspended. In pronounced cases there 
seems to be a suspension of animation and death 
is simulated so closely that in such cases persons 
have been buried alive. 

Entranced persons are said to be "wrapped 
into visions" and while in that state receive rev- 
elations from various spirit sources, divine or 
otherwise. Upon such visions and regulations 
most of the religions of the world are founded. 
The Apostle John on the Island of Patmos is a 
good example of such experiences. The visions 



SOMNAMBULISM AND TRANCES. 175 



and revelations are remembered upon returning 
to the normal state with unusual vividness which 
favors their being recorded with full details. Sim- 
ilar experiences occur in the other forms of 
Trances, so their source, meaning and value will 
be considered presently. In the milder forms of 
spontaneous Trances a person may be conscious 
of his external surroundings but unable even to 
move an eyelid, to express his consciousness, to 
those about him. However, this is exceptional, 
for usually they are plunged into profound syn- 
cope, which instead of the lethargic stupor a 
tonic spasm of the muscles occurs producing 
what is known as the Cataleptic Trance. It will 
appear that the trance conditions described 
above are all duplicated in the profounder states 
of hypnosis, which offers explanations of them. 
This will become more manifest as we proceed. 

AUTOTRANCES. 

Autotrances are self-induced subconscious 
states in which the sensibilities and vital func- 
tions are greatly reduced or suspended. As they 
are self-induced, so Ihey are self-limited except 
in the more extreme cases where it is necessary 
to have others aid in the resuscitation. Two 
types of the self-induced Trances are observed, 
namely, the profound types induced by the Yogis 



176 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



in their practice and the milder type induced by 
the searchers after the ''wisdom of God," and 
others. 

The profound type of Autotrance is well illus- 
trated in the well-known case of the Yogi Har- 
ides in his experiment made to convince the Ra- 
jah of Lahore, who was skeptical of the Yogi's 
power. The experiment was witnessed and 
vouched for by Doctor Honigberger. The Yogi 
had a cell prepared and accustomed himself to 
remain in it without air for longer and longer 
periods of time until he was ready for the test, 
which was to be buried in a closed and sealed 
grave for six weeks. 

On the day set for the initiation of the test 
a large company of spectators was assembled 
and the Rajah was present to superintend the ai- 
rangements. Harides seated himself upon a 
linen sheet to be used as a shroud, forced his 
tongue back into the pharynx, fixed his eyes 
upon the end of his nose and fell into a Trance. 
Then the attendants, after placing pledgets of 
cotton smeared with wax into his ears and nos- 
trils, gathered up the corners of the sheet, tied 
and sealed them with the Rajah's seal and placed 
the Yogi into a wooden box, three by four feet, 
and lowered him into the cement grave which 
had been prepared for the occasion. The grave 




SOMNAMBULISM AND TRANCES. 177 



which was three feet below the surface of the 
ground, was then covered over with clay and a 
guard set to watch it during the six weeks of 
the trial. Many religious devotees from all parts 
of the country camped about the place. 

At the end of the six weeks Harides was dis- 
interred. The seals upon the box and the sheet 
were unbroken and in the presence of the Rajah 
the Yogi was released from his coffin and shroud. 
He was found to be in the same position as when 
placed there, except that his head had fallen over 
upon one shoulder. The resuscitation was con- 
ducted by his disciples, who applied hot applica- 
tions to his head and body, pulled his tongue 
forward into its normal position and rubbed his 
limbs. After a short time a tremor passed over 
his body, which appeared shriveled, cold and life- 
less, and a little later he opened his eyes, which 
soon lost the lusterless appearance of death and 
regained their brightness. Upon recognizing 
the Rajah his lips moved and he asked, "Do you 
believe me now?" 

The experiment was a success and later Har- 
ides allowed himself to be buried again, this time 
for four months, and was again resuscitated in 
the same manner. 

The example must speak for itself ; we can but 
wonder at the marvelous control of body and 



178 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



mind developed by the Yogi. The second type 
of Autotrances, or as we might properly call 
them Autohypnoses, are well shown in the ex- 
periments made by the Theosophist and others. 
They attempt and believe that they succeed in 
verifying the teachings of the ancients by falling 
into such Trances. 

The founder of that cult, Madam Blavatsky, 
with a coterie of followers went to the Far-East 
to find the Mahatmas of whom they had heard. 
They found and obtained from them the "An- 
cient Wisdom of God," a body of truth said to 
be fundamental to all religions. The Mahatmas 
told them not to accept it on their testimony 
but to prove it for themselves; this, they say, 
they did. Let one of their teachers, a gentleman 
who recently came from England to teach us 
benighted Americans, explain how they did it. 

"The people who were so fortunate as to suc- 
ceed in this quest were at once placed in the posi- 
tion of being able to make a number of exceed- 
ingly interesting investigations. A group of 
them worked together for several years, steadily 
observing, comparing notes, checking every- 
thing, trying everything again and again in all 
sorts of different ways ; investigating, in fact, 
just precisely as we should investigate any other 
science which we happened to take in hand. That 



SOMNAMBULISM AND TRANCES. 179 



group of people would meet and select their sub- 
ject; they would then go away to their homes, 
and while in the state of Trance or deep sleep, 
which is really a state of excitation of the higher 
faculties, they would all make their separate ob- 
servations, would write them down and make 
notes of them when they woke. Then at the 
next meeting of that group all these people from 
different places would bring their notes together 
and compare them, and nothing was ever allowed 
to enter into the Theosophical teaching of that 
period as emanating from that group which 
rested on the testimony of any one person, or 
even, I think I may say, of any two. Always 
there was a concurrence of the testimony of 
those who had made the same investigation and 
approached it from their own different point of 
view, and nothing to which all engaged did not 
agree was put into the books which were pub- 
lished, as the transaction of the Lodge. -You 
may, perhaps, say the whole thing is simply hal- 
lucination. But at least you must give credit 
toihe people who undertook that labor (spend- 
ing sometimes two years in work before they 
turned out a single book) for at least doing their 
best not to deceive, and to make certain that 
what they teach and put before the world shall be 
verified as far as it is in their power to verify it." 



180 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



The manner of the experiments made by the 
members of the society is given here chiefly to 
illustrate the subject under discussion and will 
be referred to again presently. It is manifest 
that their trance experiences are similar to those 
had by persons known as "Trance Mediums," 
who profess to see visions and receive revelations 
from the spirit world. It seems to me and I 
have given the matter some study, that the spirit 
mediums are self-entranced, or, to be perfectly 
plain, self-hypnotized. The phenomena they 
produce closely resemble those produced by hyp- 
notized persons and result from autosuggestions. 
They are probably self-deceived and not con- 
sciously deceiving others. This subject will be 
discussed in some detail in the next chapter. 

INDUCED TRANCES. 

Induced Trances include beside those self-in- 
duced those induced by others. These are com- 
monly known as Hypnotic Trances and are sim- 
ply the deeper states of hypnosis. Any one ac- 
quainted with the phenomena of hypnosis will 
readily recognize that in them we find the ex- 
planation of all Trances. The uncertainty found 
in the vision and revelation of Hypnotic Trances 
are likewise observed in the other Trances. This 



iOMNAMBULISM AND TRANCES. 181 



explains why it is that trance visions and revela- 
tions are to say the least unreliable. 

Persons in subconscious states are phenom- 
enally impressionable. The least sign or hint 
will serve as a suggestion which will color the 
whole experience. It is well known that the 
least hint, often unintentionally given, will be ac- 
cepted and acted upon by the hypnotized per- 
son. In like manner persons self-hypnotized 
or self-entranced are directed by autosuggestion 
often unintentionally given. A fear, a hope, an 
expectation or a desire will and often does direct 
the experiences and results of a self-induced 
Trance. Beside, the environment of which the 
entranced person seems to be insensible is an 
important factor in producing phenomena. Any 
one consulting an entranced person by asking 
leading questions can obtain almost any informa- 
tion (?) they desire. Not infrequently I have 
obtained absolutely contradictory statements 
during the same sitting. 

Spirit mediums deny that they are self-en- 
tranced and insist that they are controlled by ex- 
carnate spirits. The idea has lately been sug- 
gested that spirits control or entrance mediums 
in the same manner that persons control or hyp- 
notize each other; this is a clever notion and 
was introduced, no doubt, to answer us who be- 



182 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



lieve we see autohypnosis in the state known as 
spirit control. 

The unreliability of the experiments conducted 
by those trying to verify the teachings of the 
Mahatmas by Trance and dream conditions is 
manifest. Such verifications are no verifications 
at all, for the autosuggestions dominating the 
mind of investigators will prevent any reliable 
results, which will be little better than meaning- 
less hallucinations. They will obtain what they 
expect to obtain whether it is real or unreal, true 
or false. The gentleman from England evidently 
suspected this when he said, "You must give 
credit to the people who undertook that labor at 
least for doing their best not to deceive." 

The prophetic utterances, visions and revela- 
tions of Somnambulism and Trances must be 
verified, just as carefully as the phenomena of 
hypnosis, before they can demand serious at- 
tention. About a century ago the Hypnotized 
or Mesmerized subject was supposed to have 
supernatural power and their utterances, visions 
and revelations were considered infallible, as I 
have said in another writing on that subject, 
Mind and Body. 

"They could see through persons and tell what 
parts were affected ; they could predict the fu- 
ture; they could go in spirit to distant places 



SOMNAMBULISM AND TRANCES. 183 



and bring back information about persons and 
things; they could visit heaven and converse 
with God and the angels — upon the reports of 
such visits a large volume was written describ- 
ing heaven and its arrangement and manage- 
ment." 

It was soon found that the supposed departure 
of the soul from the body during hypnosis to- 
gether with most of the revelations were fictions 
resulting from an exalted state of mind in which 
the persons were dominated by suggestion. It 
is likely that the utterances, visions and revela- 
tions of Somnambulism and Trances have a sim- 
ilar source and value. These will be considered 
in greater detail in the next chapter, devoted to 
the phenomena of Spiritism. 



CHAPTER XL 

SPIRITISM. 

The interest in the subject — Spiritism defined — Its re- 
lation to immortality — The phenomena — A list of 
the same — Fraudulent Phenomena — Genuine Phe- 
nomena — The means of the productions — The 
Medium — Kinds of Mediums — All Mediums Psy- 
chics — Going under control — The manner of their 
production — The Seances — "Fortune Telling" — 
The Spiritistic circle — Slate writing — The messages 
— Levitations — Materializations — Explanations of 
the production — Spiritists' theory discarded — Hal- 
lucination and Telepathy — This theory insufficient in 
some instances — Indian fakirs — The mind creation 
theory — "Thoughts are things" — Psychics can pro- 
duce phantasms — Witchcraft — Some conclusions. 

The so-called spiritualistic phenomena have 
startled the peoples of all countries, in all ages, 
causing certain creepy sensations in the brave, 
and terrifying the timid, by reason of their mys- 
tery and grewsomeness. Death and its conse- 
quences have ever had their terrors for the liv- 
ing, so phenomena purporting to be from the 

185 



186 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



dead always find an interested audience. These 
phenomena I have ventured to call the psychic 
phenomena of Spiritualism, believing that all of 
the real phenomena have their source in the 
minds of the living. 

Spiritism may be defined as the belief and doc- 
trine that spirits of the dead communicate with 
and manifest themselves in various ways to the 
living through Mediums at meetings called se- 
ances. The doctrine dates back many centuries, 
but what is known as Modern Spiritism is only 
a half century old. Spiritism is the antithesis of 
materialism and teaches that there are substances 
or beings not cognizable by the senses and not 
revealable through any of the properties of mat- 
ter, except by materialization, and that are there- 
fore spiritual, as distinguished from material. 
Whether these beliefs and doctrines are well 
founded or not remains to be proven and we sin- 
cerely hope that definite proofs may soon be 
forthcoming. Deep down in most of our hearts 
nestles a belief in immortality together with the 
fond hope of a future reunion with our loved 
ones gone before in a realm where all parting, 
pain and time shall disappear. However, beliefs 
and hopes are not proofs and the purpose of this 
study is to show that Spiritism, as defined above. 
is not necessary to the explanation or produc- 



SPIRITISM. 187 

tion of the so-called phenomena of Spiritism. 
Let us study first 

THE PHENOMENA. 

The phenomena consist of various scratches, 
raps, furniture movings, levitations, writings, 
revelations and materializations. But since all 
of the phenomena reported are not genuine, it is 
necessary to sift and thoroughly eliminate the 
false. However, this is no easy task, as every 
one who has tried it has very soon discovered. 
There is much fraud and imposition, and since it 
is often impossible to verify the phenomena pro- 
duced, it is difficult to say just how much wheat 
there is in the heap of chaff. Most of it depends 
upon the testimony of Spiritists, and unfortu- 
nately their testimony is often unreliable. They 
are interested parties, generally prejudiced in the 
matter, and desirous of proving the truth of their 
theories. They are also notoriously credulous, 
indeed they seem to want to be imposed upon 
Their conversion seems to be complete, and ever 
afterward they swallow everything unquestion- 
ingly. The whale swallowing Jonah is put to 
shame ; they would believe that Jonah swallowed 
the whale ! A prominent Spiritualist (Home) in 
speaking of their credulity, tells an experience he 
had. He was present at a semi-dark seance, 



188 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



where a cabinet medium was performing. A 
face appeared at the window of the cabinet, and 
he called the attention of a person sitting beside 
him to the fact that the face was simply a mask 
without eyes in the sockets ; whereupon this per- 
son replied, "The dear spirits have not had time 
to materialize the eyes." He also expresses his 
contempt for all dark seances as opportunities to 
defraud, and gives many instances of imposition 
and deception. 

After we have thoroughly sifted the phenom- 
ena, and eliminated all that is manifestly fraudu- 
lent, there still remains a considerable residuum 
of apparently true phenomena. It seems that 
raps do occur; certain revelations are made 
which appear to transcend the ordinary intelli- 
gence of man; written messages are received; 
ponderable bodies are levitated ; and some phan- 
tasms are materialized. Now, have I granted 
the whole claim? Let us see. The source and 
causes of these phenomena still remain to be ex- 
plained. There are but two possible explana- 
tions, and only one of them is true. The phe- 
nomena result from either supermundane agen- 
cies or mundane influences. They are either mor- 
tal or supermortal phenomena. Let us see if we 
can find out what is the truth. Stainton Moses, 
a noted Spiritist, says: "They (Spiritists) start 



SPIRITISM. 189 



with a fallacy, namely, that all phenomena are 
caused by the action of departed human spirits. 
They have not looked into the powers of the hu- 
man spirit ; they do not know the extent to which 
spirit acts, how far it reaches, what it underlies." 
This is precisely the weakness of their whole 
system, as will plainly appear as we proceed to 
study. 

THE MEANS OF THE PRODUCTIONS. 

Mediums are the means of producing the so- 
called spiritualistic phenomena, and without their 
aid none is produced. No Medium — no phe- 
nomena. A Medium is "a person who stands 
between the living and the dead." He is the 
''one whose psychic force supplies the power the 
spirit uses to produce the various phenomena." 
There is a vast number of different kinds of Me- 
diums. Their name is legion. They take their 
names from the various kinds of phenomena 
produced, as fortune tellers, slatewriters, trum- 
pet Mediums, materializing Mediums, and so on 
to the end of a long list. Now, all Mediums are 
Psychics, but all Psychics are not Mediums* 
This is fortunate for our study, for through the 
Psychic we may be able to understand the Me- 
dium. A Psychic is a person who is able to pro- 
duce peculiar phenomena by means of a natural 



190 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



or developed control of his mind, or psychic 
powers. It appears that Mediums have no 
powers that Psychics do not have; and many 
Psychics deny any spirit aid in their perform- 
ances. Some Mediums also insist that the power 
resides within themselves, although they do not 
understand it. All Psychics, whether Mediums 
or not, go into more or less profound trances. 
The Medium calls it "going under control," sup- 
posedly the control of some disembodied spirit. 
The Psychics, who are not Mediums, say they 
are controlled by their subconscious minds. 
The easiest way to develop a Psychic is by the 
use of Hypnotism, and those so developed fur- 
nish the means for studying the Mediums. It 
is observed that they are all in identical condi- 
tions when entranced ; the means of the produc- 
tion of the trance, alone, being different. The 
first two, the Medium and the self-developed 
Psychic, go into the trance by autosuggestions, 
or are self-hypnotized, while the third goes into 
the trance by heterosuggestion, or is simply hyp- 
notized. Now, if things equal to the same thing 
are equal to each other, then we must conclude 
that there is no difference between the Medium 
and ordinary Psychic, except in name. All 
Psychics while entranced are highly suggestible, 
a fact which I shall have occasion to refer to 



SPIRITISM. 191 



again a little later, as it furnishes the explana- 
tion of some things otherwise not easily under- 
stood. 

THE MANNER OF THEIR PRODUCTION. 

The manner of producing the so-called spir- 
itistic phenomena is through the seances. A 
seance is said to be "a meeting for consulting 
the spirits' , and "an exhibition of spirit phe- 
nomena by a Medium." Let us attend some of 
the various kinds of seances, for seances, like 
the Mediums, have various names according to 
the phenomena produced. We will begin with 
the more common, "fortune telling." 

In order to give the Medium a fair chance we 
will go to an entire stranger. What results are 
likely to follow? These : After the Medium has 
fallen into a trance, he will begin with some 
highly complimentary and flattering statements 
as to the sitter's character and ability; then the 
sitter's name will be given, his residence and 
business, his past history, his secrets that he sup- 
posed were known to himself alone, and in fact 
anything that the sitter has recorded in his mind. 
Ihe sitter will be told whom he desires a mes- 
sage from, and the message produced without 
his ever saying a word. The results would be 
the same if he were dumb. These are extraordi- 



192 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



nary revelations, but you will readily guess that 
this is simply a case of Mind Reading or Telep- 
athy, so I will hurry on to the next seance. 

A spiritistic circle consists of a few persons 
who arrange themselves around a table and lay 
their hands upon it, and await results. The re- 
sults usually consist of scratches, raps and levi- 
tations, and are considered by some as certain 
evidences of spirit presence. Are they? I 
think not, for any circle, with a Medium or with- 
out a Medium, composed of Spiritists, Chris- 
tians, Pagans or Jews will obtain the same re- 
sults. Careful tests have been made which have 
proven conclusively that these results follow, 
and just as certainly that they do not depend 
upon any supermundane agency. We have all 
seen the table-tipping tried, and most of us have 
had our part in it, as children or adults, and few 
of us have thought it due to any force not re- 
siding in our own bodies. Let us attend a 
seance where they do more difficult things. 

The slate writing seance is one that will re- 
quire careful looking into. It is a clever phe- 
nomenon, but it often is a trick. Legerdemain 
plays an important part here, as has been shown 
by many investigators, notably Mr. J. S. Davey, 
a renegade Medium. One of the secretaries of 
the Society for Psychical Research says of the 



SPIRITISM. 193 



phenomena he produced without spirit aid: 
"Time would fail me to tell all the marvels per- 
formed by Mr. Davey's agency and attested by 
educated and intelligent eye-witnesses. He 
produced a long message in Japanese for a Japa- 
nese marquis; he made, or seemed to make, 
pieces of chalk under a glass describe geomet- 
rical figures at the unexpressed wish of the sit- 
ter ; he made a tumbler walk across the table in 
full light; he wrote messages on double slates, 
securely sealed and screwed together ; he mate- 
rialized in strong light a woman's head, which 
floated in the air and then dematerialized, and 
the half-length figure of a bearded man in a tur- 
ban, reading a book, who bowed to the circle 
and finally disappeared through the ceiling with 
a scraping noise." Even if any of the phenom- 
ena were true, though none of it is beyond the 
power of the prestidigitateur, the nature of the 
messages written upon the slates would suffice 
to render it unimportant. Let us consider them 
a moment : They all profess to be from the 
dead. Are they? No. I was favored by a 
Medium with several messages, for value re- 
ceived, and, briefly, this is the result: I wrote 
to a dead friend and got in response an answer 
expressed in general terms which was fairly sat- 
isfactory. Next I wrote a note to my living 



194 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



dog, asking if he had found his mother and 
whether he was happy and liked his new home. 
The answer came in a few moments : He was 
all right, etc., signed by the dog's name as I 
had addressed him. "Well," I ruminated, "per- 
haps the dog has died since I left Him, and in his 
spirit form has responded. I want to be sure, 
so I will try again. The door-post certainly 
could not answer, so I will write to it." I wrote 
to D. Post and got an affectionate reply. What 
could I think? What would you think? Are 
the messages worth much consideration? Are 
they to be relied upon? I have said, and repeat, 
"No." Here is where the suggestibility comes 
in ; the Medium is under an autosuggestion that 
he is the instrument of departed spirits, and con- 
sequently is compelled to write from that view 
point. In some instances the Mediums are self- 
deceived, and are honest in their protestations 
that they are innocent of conscious fraud. I 
wish to call attention to a contest which occurred 
in Tremont Temple, Boston, before leaving this 
subject. 

Rev. Arthur A. Waite, who had been a Me- 
dium, claimed that he would duplicate any feat 
that the friends of Spiritism could accomplish. 
His challenge was accepted, the trial came off, 
and he repeated and explained every one of the 



SPIRITISM. 195 



Medium's tricks and forced him to retreat in 
confusion. 

One thing should be noticed, namely, that 
messages in the form of essays and speeches 
from the shades of Bacon, Washington, Clay 
and Webster, are unworthy of those men, and 
more like the productions of unlearned school- 
boys or imbeciles. If they are genuine effu- 
sions of these illustrious shades, we must con- 
clude with Hamilton, that they are "souls in the 
process of losing their mental powers, souls fad- 
ing away, souls destined to become extinct," 
and such a belief rather makes against the dig- 
nity and reality of immortality. If Spiritists 
could prove that the messages were from spirits, 
even that would not prove a future life, for it 
is impossible to prove that the spirits had ever 
been dwellers upon the earth in bodily forms. 
We are obliged to take the testimony of the 
spirits, and this, according to many authorities 
on Spiritisms, is unreliable. One author says, 
"The spirits can say what they like, assume to 
be what they please.' , Again I ask what is such 
testimony worth ? Nothing. 

Levitation, or floating in the air, is among the 
rare phenomena of Spiritism, and while we may 
not fully understand how it is done, I am sure 
that it is not necessary to conclude that ponder- 



196 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



able things are borne up by angel hands. We 
have strong statements from good authorities 
that levitation can be produced without the in- 
terposition of spirit agencies. We are told that 
"the priests of Siam, when in the sacred pagoda, 
mount fifty feet in the air with taper in hand, 
and flit from idol to idol, lighting up the niches, 
self-supported, and stepping as confidently as 
though they were upon the solid ground." "The 
officers of the Russian squadron in Japanese 
waters relate the fact that, besides many other 
marvels, they saw jugglers walk in mid-air with- 
out the slightest support." — (Blavatsky.) I do 
not know how this is done, but it does not neces- 
sarily involve the supernatural. The Adepts do 
these things, and one was heard to say in expla- 
nation that they are persons "who know that the 
power to produce these phenomena resides in 
themselves, and who possess the intelligence to 
control and direct it." A friend of mind, who 
has been under the tutelage of several Indian 
teachers, told me that he had succeeded in levita- 
ting his own body, that he had floated about his 
room. It is to be hoped that we shall know 
more of this power in the near future. 

Materialization is the crowning glory of the 
Mediums. The phenomena vary from faint, 
shadowy visions, to palpable phantasms that 



SPIRITISM. 197 



may be caught and fixed upon the photographic 
plate. It is hardly necessary to say that most 
of these manifestations are fraud, for nearly all, 
if not all, of the prominent materializing Me- 
diums have been detected and exposed as im- 
postors. But there are phenomena that have 
been observed and vouched for, and recorded by 
competent and trustworthy persons; and some 
of us have seen and heard for ourselves. Now, 
confident that we are dealing with facts, we feel 
that it is worthy of our best efforts to discover 
and understand the laws which underlie and gov- 
ern these apparitions. It has been proven that 
certain shapes, resembling human persons, ani- 
mals and inanimate objects, have appeared, and 
from time to time do appear to the living. In 
other words, phantasms, apparitions, or ghosts, 
have appeared, and do appear to the living. 
What are the causes and the possible explana- 
tions of the existence of these impalpable crea- 
tions ? There are but the two possibilities before 
mentioned ; they are due to forces controlled by 
the living, or they are the manifestations of the 
dead. Let us examine them. 

Ghosts have appeared in all ages, and in all 
forms. The favorite character in the Bible is 
the angel. Again and again we are told that 
angels have appeared and have talked with men 



198 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



and women. In secular records they have ap- 
peared singly and in groups, usually clothed and 
bodily complete; but at times only part of the 
body has appeared, as a face or a hand. There 
seems to be some definitely intelligent purpose 
of the ghostly visitors, as the revelation of a 
secret, the telling of news, or the disclosure of 
a crime. In the latter case the appearance of 
the spectre is at the place of the perpetration 
of the crime, and often recurring only at inter- 
vals, as at the anniversary of the deed. It is 
rare that ghosts appear except in cases of vio- 
lent death, the more violent the death, the more 
likely is the phantasm to appear. Most of these 
creations have sad, melancholy, or even suffer- 
ing expressions, as though they were the chil- 
dren born of anguish and despair. 

EXPLANATIONS OF THE PRODUCTION. 

In seeking the explanations of these phenom- 
ena, the scientific axiom that forbids the attrib- 
uting of any phenomenon to supernatural influ- 
ence that may be explained by natural forces, 
compels us to discard the Spiritist's theory. 
However, that theory is wholly unnecessary, as 
well as inadequate. There are two other, better 
explanations, namely, I . The phenomena are 
due to Hallucination and Telepathy, and 2. 
They are actual Creations of the Mind. 






SPIRITISM. 199 



Hallucination and Telepathy do certainly 
cover and explain a large number of these phe- 
nomena, no doubt, but in my judgment they are 
inadequate in some cases. The Indian fakirs do 
some wonderful feats through these means. A 
friend of mind who was for a number of years in 
the service of the English government in India*, 
told me some of the marvels he saw. He said : 
"One day a group of officers and natives were 
watching a fakir, and we saw plainly a full-grown 
tiger walk in our midst, but a snap shot with a 
kodak failed to catch the tiger upon the photo- 
graphic plate. I saw the 'basket trick/ as it is 
known. A fakir comes down the street with a 
large basket upon his head, and as soon as a 
crowd assembles, he takes from the basket a 
square cloth and spreads it upon the ground; 
then he seizes a boy from the crowd — apparently 
any boy — lays him upon the cloth and covers 
him with the basket. He then takes a short 
sword and runs it through the basket again and 
again in all directions. The sword is smeared 
with blood, and the boy screams, but when the 
basket is removed by some anxious spectator, 
no boy is found there." And a lot more tricks 
of a similar kind were witnessed. We are only 
beginners in the study of Thought Transference 
and hallucination. 



200 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



There is a group of investigators who offer a 
solution of the mysteries of phantasms, ghcsts, 
and the like, who suggest that they are 
creations of the minds of the living more 
or less material, and correspondingly recog- 
nizable by the senses. To me this is the 
most probable and satisfactory explanation, 
although it is difficult of demonstration. Of 
materialization Hudson says: "Like all other 
so-called spirit phenomena it is, in my mind, 
directly traceable to the power of the subjective 
mind of the Medium, aided by telepathic com- 
munion with the sitter." It appears that these 
psychic creations, or palpable thoughts — for 
''thoughts are things" — differ from telepathic 
communications only in degree. The condi- 
tions under which they are produced explain the 
differences. It has been noticed that the most 
favorable condition of the mind for telepathic 
and other like actions, is when the subconscious 
mind is most nearly in complete control, and this 
condition obtains at the hour of death, or when 
the functions of the body are temporarily sus- 
pended. The Psychics who are able to produce 
these creations are those who fall into the most 
profound trances. The ordinary, or primary, 
consciousness is wholly in abeyance, and the 
subconscious mind is in complete control. Now, 



SPIRITISM. 20i 



the creations in Thought Transference are tran- 
sient, and dissolve as soon as they have fulfilled 
their missons, while those produced in the agony 
of death, or under strong emotions, are more 
substantial and lasting, both by reason of their 
birth and their mission. The extreme effort of 
a tortured soul to protest and proclaim against 
a murderer, doubtless accounts for the appari- 
tions which reenact the ghastly scenes at the 
place of their perpetration. The effort of a de- 
parting soul to say a last long farewell to its 
loved ones, must account for the phantasm which 
takes on a shadowy form and appears to take a 
last lingering look into the faces of the dear ones. 
The likeness, in these cases, to the individual is 
natural and readily explained, but not so those 
produced by Psychics, it is claimed. When it 
is remembered, however, that the Psychic is in 
telepathic communion with the sitter, and can 
get the picture from his mind, this difficulty 
vanishes. 

This theory of Thought Creation also affords 
an explanation for a fact that neither of the 
others cover, namely, the almost uniformly sad 
or anguished expression upon the face of the 
shades. Resulting as they do from minds 
racked with physical pain, in the throes of death, 
it is natural that they should have such expres- 



202 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



sions. It also explains another set of cases 
which the other theories failed to touch. It 
often happens that sensitive persons are affected 
by the influence of the thoughts of those who 
have previously occupied a room or a house. 
No ghost or phantasm is seen or heard, but the 
influence from the previous occupant is felt; 
sometimes it is of one character, sometimes of 
another, but most often it is disagreeable, and 
frequently of such a nature as to compel the vic- 
tim to move. This is especially true if the for- 
mer occupant was the victim of great sorrow or 
strong emotions of any kind ; it is not necessary 
to the condition that the person should have 
died. 

The phenomena rendering witchcraft so inex- 
plicable, can readily be accounted for by the 
mind creation theory. That they — the witches 
— were able to perform and did perforin many 
wonders is common history, and historians give 
details of some of their known methods, which 
seem to point to the fact that they were Psy- 
chics, and went into self-induced trances, in 
order to send their cats, hobgoblins and demons 
to harass the victims of their enmity. 

Now, if man can create phantasms, as it 
seems that he can, is it not natural and logical 
that we should, at least, try to harmonize with 



SPIRITISM. 203 



this fact certain similar phantasms, apparitions, 
ghosts, shades or what not, produced by Me- 
diums? To my mind, that the creation of all 
phantasms is by the subconscious mind, is all 
but proven. In any case I have given you a 
more acceptable theory than the one offered by 
the Spiritists, for it observes the axiom which 
forbids us to refer explainable phenomena to 
supernatural agencies. I, for one, until we have 
carried our explorations much farther than we 
have at present, and have fixed more definitely 
the boundaries of the natural, will not abandon 
the firm conviction that neither demon nor 
ghost, angel nor devil, are necessary to account 
for the strange happenings and phenomena that 
we have had under consideration. 

Now, in conclusion, while it is plain that the 
phenomena brought forward as proofs of the 
theory of Spiritism are insufficient and unsatis- 
factory, it does not necessarily follow that im- 
mortality is a fallacy. On the contrary, it should 
stimulate a renewed effort and a more careful 
study so that, if possible, satisfactory and certain 
proofs of a future life may be found. Such? 
studies, as those recently conducted with Mrs. 
Piper and Miss Hellene Smith, are steps in 
the right direction and should be heartily encour- 
aged by all who are interested in the subject, for 



204 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



they deal with the problem involving the most 
tremendous facts that can engage the attention 
of the human mind. 



CHAPTER XII. 
THE FUTURE OF PSYCHISM. 

A forecast of Psychism — Some problems to be solved — 
The Psychic's character must be exalted — Psychism 
must prepare the way for the development of such a 
character — No Psychic influence without its power 
for good or ill— The study of the future will be the 
study of the forces within man — "Do coming events 
cast their shadows before them?" — "If a man die 
shall he live again?" — Our banner bears the motto 
Psychism. 

Augury is out of place in a serious scientific 
study, but having made a review of Psychism 
we may be allowed to make a forecast of its fu- 
ture. The present status of the thing always 
presents some promise of its future. Measur- 
ing Psychism by this method, it looks as if it 
would have a glorious future ; at least, it em- 
bodies grand possibilities. Whether it will rise 
tc the occasion and make the most of these pos- 
sibilities and thus justify its usefulness to man- 
kind is uncertain. There are many problems 
205 



206 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



and questions which present themselves to Psy- 
chism for solution which must be fairly met and 
answered. Its future depends upon its ability to 
solve some of the following problems. 

The character of the Psychic must be raised 
from its present low status to a high, enviable 
position. The man that is now marked by his 
eccentricity, moral twist, lax life and physical 
depletion must be transformed into the man who 
shall be marked by his serene, morally upright, 
Christ-like life and physical perfection. A 
transformation as necessary as it is profound. 
If the Psychic is the highest product of evolu- 
tion he must be placed in the very best light. 
He has been the exception, the first fruit of the 
evolutionary process; as such, he must be the 
example elevated for all men to observe and fol- 
low. Instead of being the exception he must 
become the rule of human development. One 
such character who had reached the acme of 
psychic development lived upon the earth; He 
walked and talked with men, performed wonders, 
healed the sick and assured His followers that 
the works that He did and the life that He lived, 
pure and simple, they might do and live. He 
was such a character and reflected such a perfect 
manhood that His enemies were forced to dis- 
tinguish Him by the exclamation. "Behold the 



THE FUTURE OF PSYCHISM. 207 



Man!" Such an one is the Psychic of the fu- 
ture. 

The development of such a character as has 
been portrayed above is the work of Psychism. 
Voices are now crying in the wilderness of igno- 
rance and superstition, ''Prepare ye the way," 
and it is the business of Psychism to prepare 
the way. The way must be sure, safe and broad. 
The dangers that have attended the ways and 
methods of the past must be removed. All who 
sincerely start should be able to reach the goal 
of their ambition. The possibility, not to say 
probability, of unbalancing the reason and fetch- 
ing up in an insane asylum must be removed. 
Surely it is possible for all to follow in the foot- 
steps of the Master without running such dire 
risks. Some few have been enabled to do so, 
and it remains for Psychism to point out a broad, 
safe, sure way — broad enough for all who wish 
to follow Him. Many aspire to a Christ-like 
life and character who have been unable to find 
the way which leads to them. When Psychism 
has performed its office, opened the door and 
shown the way, many will turn their faces toward 
soul-culture and begin to know themselves. 

The importance of environment and the power 
of Suggestion to make or mar men must be em- 
phasized. Psychism must point out the fact 



208 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



that no psychic influence is without its power 
and that the sum total of such influences is re- 
sponsible for human character. When we real- 
ize this we shall be more careful of our words 
and actions, for every word lives and every action 
has its effect. The health and happiness of 
those around us depend upon us. We may 
make them ill or unhappy, or we may make them 
well and happy. Few persons realize their 
power, and it is the privilege of Psychism to 
teach the power that resides in man to the many. 
Animals show more intelligence than men ; they 
seek out and eat of the plant that cures their ills, 
while man too often dies in his ignorance. The 
divinity that placed the instinct in the animal 
has not left man less complete. It remains for 
man to seek out and use his powers, to know 
himself. What the animal does by instinct of 
necessity, man should do by intuition, of choice. 
Health and happiness will be the rule with those 
who know and use their psychic powers. 

The study of the future will be the study of the 
things within, instead of outside of man. Psy- 
chism has an almost inexhaustible mine of treas- 
ures to unearth and develop. The mighty forces 
of nature outside of man have long been ex- 
ploited before the bewildered gaze of the won- 
dering world, but these are likely to be sur- 



THE FUTURE OF PSYCHISM. 209 



passed by the magnificent powers of man's mind. 
The far-reaching, penetrating perception is only 
surpassed by the delicate receptivity of the human 
mind. The wonders of mechanical devices are 
only imperfect imitations of the more wonderful 
mechanism of man. Wireless telegraphy and 
the X-ray represent the acme of the mechanical 
use of electricity, and while they are most won- 
derful they shrink into insignificance when com- 
pared with the delicate activities of the mind. 
Surely the salvation of mankind is found within 
man ! Psychism must take the developments of 
the past and present and arrange and add to 
them until it has builded a science of mind the 
like of which the world has never dreamed. By 
doing so it will usher in the era when man shall 
become God-like in his power; he will get into 
harmony with the universe and be able to catch 
and interpret the thought waves of the world, 
to see and hear without limit, recognize and 
understand the souls of things. When man 
reaches this condition there will be no question 
about life's being worth the living, for to live 
will be sublime. 

The waking hours will be full of joy and hope 
and opportunities for knowing ourselves, and 
during Sleep our Dreams will become coherent 
and full of meaning. Psychism will translate 



210 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



the phantasms of the night, from unsubstantial 
fancies into intelligent messages. Sleep will be- 
come not only a period of bodily rest, but a sea- 
son of intellectual activity. The prophetic 
dreams that have so long mystified us will be 
understood in both manner and meaning. For 
Psychism must solve the question, "Do coming 
events cast their shadows before them?" Coin- 
cidence does not satisfy the inquirer about such 
dreams. Too many prophetic visions of the 
night are fulfilled to allow such an explanation. 
Science has been accustomed to deny the possi- 
bility of prescience where free moral agency is 
concerned, but there are many who contradict 
the dictum of science. Psychism must come to 
our aid and solve and explain these mysteries 
for us. 

Closely allied to dream experiences are the 
experiences had in Trances. Many revelations 
have been made to entranced persons. These 
revelations have been remembered and translated 
by such persons after their return to their normal 
state. Some of the visions and revelations have 
proven reliable and true, while many others 
have proven to be fanciful and false. Psychism 
has a work to do in this connection. Whence 
do these revelations come and what is their im- 
portance? Is it possible to find out their source 



THE FUTURE OF PSYCHISM. 211 



and meaning? We look to Psychism to answer 
these questions about the trance revelations that 
form the foundation of most religions. Jt is a 
vital matter, and it is to be hoped that it may 
soon be understood. 

Another mystery still more inscrutable to us 
confronts Psychism, namely, the mystery of 
death. All have to meet the king of terrors, 
and none escapes unconquered. All must pass 
into the realm of the unknown, from whence it 
is said no traveler has ever returned to give an 
account. The question propounded by the an- 
cients, "If a man die, shall he live again?" re- 
mains unanswered. Many answers have been 
made, but none that has been satisfactory to all. 
Can Psychism formulate such an answer? It 
seems incredible that the human soul, with all 
of its possibilities and powers, should come into 
consciousness and attain such a height of devel- 
opment, only to go out into utter darkness like 
a burned-out candle. Our hearts whisper some- 
thing of the future and our minds seem to catch 
glimpses of another life. Is the time coming 
when our hearts shall speak plainly and our 
minds shall know certainly of that life? We 
look to Psychism for an answer, and I do not 
think we look in vain. The minds that can send 
and receive thought messages from continent to 



212 THE PSYCHIC AND PSYCHISM. 



continent, may some day be able to send and re- 
ceive them across the gulf that separates us from 
the great unknown. There are rumors that 
some are already able to do so, and we are anx- 
iously awaiting the proofs of their ability. 

The friends of Psychism should rally to aid 
it in its onerous but promising work. Men and 
means are necessary for the exploration and de- 
velopment of this field of study. The work 
should not be left to a few; all are interested 
in the results and all should take part in the 
work. Much has been accomplished already by 
a few faithful workers, but much more will be 
accomplished when all who are interested in this 
subject freely lend their aid. 

Forerunners have already scaled the moun- 
tains and have planted the banner upon the top- 
most peak of vantage, where it unfurls and floats 
upon the breeze, encouragingly displaying the 
motto "PSYCHISM." Let us' follow and rally 
around our banner. 






APPENDIX A. 
THE METHODS OF HYPNOTIZING. 

Hypnotism has reached its present scientific 
position through a tedious evolution. Like 
every other science, it has had to struggle for 
existence, and only after a hard fight has it re- 
ceived due recognition. In its various stages of 
development, widely differing theories have been 
held as to its nature, the methods of inducing its 
states and producing its phenomena. 

These have been pointed out, but it remains to 
explain and illustrate them, for upon them de- 
pends its successful therapeutic application. 

Each of the several schools of hypnotism has 
its methods; the mesmerists claim that the op- 
erator exerts a personal influence over his sub- 
jects, and they use passes and magnets, but this 
influence is denied by the other two schools. The 
Salpetriere school uses sudden, sharp, sensorial 
shocks. The Nancy school uses slight, pro- 
longed, sensorial stimuli. They both succeed, so 
it is fair to conclude that hypnotic states may 
be induced (i) by sudden, strong, sensorial stim-/ 
213 



214 APPENDIX. 



ulation, as a bright light or a loud sound ; (2) by 
slight, prolonged, sensorial stimulation, as a 
light touch or a low, monotonous sound. 

However, the influence of suggestion must 
not be overlooked, for it is a factor second to 
none in the production of induced sleep. When 
the subject expects to be hynotized, his mind 
contributes to the success of the operation, and 
he the more readily falls into the hypnosis. Hyp- 
nosis is a psychic state similar to natural sleep. 

It is essential to prepare the subject's mind be- 
fore attempting to hypnotize him, precisely for 
the reason that it is a mental operation. Luys 
well said : "The hypnotizer is nothing ; the hyp- 
notized subject everything." Without the con- 
cious cooperation of the subject, failures will be 
frequent. The operator should explain the sim- 
plicity of the operation ; clear it as much as pos- 
sible of all mystery, minimize its dangers, and 
emphasize its benefits. After having removed all 
fear and resistance from the mind of the sub- 
ject, he should place him in a comfortable posi- 
tion and have him thoroughly relax body and 
mind and become passive. 

Now, we are ready to begin, but must not 
hurry. It is often wise to spend the first visit in 
subject is a stranger. It gives his mind time to 
prepare for the hypnosis. 



APPENDIX. 215 



It has been hinted that the personal influ- 
ence is of small account, but in one sense this is 
far from true. While it is true that the operator 
does not possess a peculiar "power," it is not 
true that his influence is unimportant. It is all 
important that he should be able to win the con- 
fidence of his subject and make him believe that 
he can do what he is about to attempt. Every- 
thing depends upon the effects produced upon 
the subject's mind, and the best operator is he 
w r ho can most easily convince his patients that 
what he says is true, and what he predicts will 
happen. His experience brings self-confidence, 
but suggestion is the power and not a personal 
force or fluid, as claimed by the mesmerists. 
Confidence is contagious. 

The importance of thus carefully preparing the 
patient will be appreciated by physicians when it 
is borne in mind that the results obtained in the 
first treatment will exert a marked influence 
upon all future results. Fear and resistance, 
either conscious or unconscious, will often pre- 
vent success. An uncomfortable position may 
have the same effect. As little things hinder nat- 
ural sleep, so do they interfere with the induc- 
tion of hypnosis. 

Having prepared the subject mentally and 
physically, we begin by assuring him that he is 



216 APPENDIX. 



resting comfortably and will soon go to sleep. 
Have him close his eyes and rest passively and 
then talk to him in a monotonous tone of voice 
somewhat as follows : 

"You are now thoroughly relaxed in mind 
and body, and are going to sleep. It is easy 
to go to sleep. All one has to do is to let go of 
everything and drift, drift, drift into sleep, sleep, 
sleep. You are becoming very sleepy; your 
eyelids are very heavy, and soon you will be 
sound asleep, asleep, asleep. You do not plainly 
hear what I say, and I do not want you to. Just 
let yourself drift, drift, drift into a sound, sweet 
sleep, sleep, sleep. Breathe deeply and regularly. 
Now you are asleep ; your eyes are fast shut ; 
the lids are so heavy that you cannot open them. 
You will "remain asleep until I tell you to 
awaken." 

Now place your hand lightly on his forehead, 
or your ringers upon his eyelids, and assure him 
that he is sleeping soundly and comfortably ; 
that he is happy and having a good rest and will 
be greatly refreshed by it. Keep up these sug- 
gestions for five minutes or longer and he will 
fall into an hypnosis, more or less profound, and 
be ready for the curative suggestions. 

Take another subject and place him in the 
same comfortable position, wholly relaxed and 



APPENDIX. 217 



passive. Turn him toward the light and direct 
him to look into one of your eyes. Stand so 
that your eye will be a little above the line of his 
vision and about seven inches from his eyes. 
Having to look up at that angle will soon tire 
his eyes, which will aid in impressing the idea of 
sleep. Before or while he looks into your eye, 
tell him what he is to expect ; namely, that his 
eyes will soon blur; he will not see distinctly, 
and then that his eyelids will become heavy and 
close, and he will go fast asleep. 

What you predict will happen. His eyes will 
blur, the lids will become tired and heavy ; they 
will make a few long winks and then close and 
remain shut, and the probability is that he will 
fall into an hypnosis. When the eyelids have 
closed place your fingers lightly upon them and 
keep them closed for a few moments, lest his ef- 
forts to open them should arouse him and cause 
him to wake up. Then, with your hand lightly 
laid upon his forehead, give a slight downward 
pressure upon the eyebrows and assure him that 
it is impossible for him to open his eyes. He 
will try and probably fail to open them. Now, 
he is hypnotized and suggestible. 

The process is simple and is easily explained. 
It is a physio-psychologic phenomenon. The 
blurring of the vision and the heaviness of the 



218 APPENDIX. 



eyelids are due to strain and are physiologic. 
The falling into the hypnotic sleep is due to the 
adoption, by the mind, of the suggested idea of 
sleep and is psychologic. 

A combination of the above methods is better 
than either of them alone and will succeed in al- 
most every case. 

Place your subject in the usual comfortable 
position in an easy chair or on a sofa and instruct 
him to relax, bodily and mentally, and become 
passive and unresisting. Then have him look 
into your eye, as described above, and at the 
same time talk to him in a monotonous tone of 
voice, somewhat as follows : 

"You are now thoroughly relaxed, passive and 
unresisting. You are resting comfortably and 
will soon fall into a quiet, restful sleep. My 
talking to you will not annoy you ; it will aid 
you in going to sleep. Your eyes will soon blur 
and you will see indistinctly, your eyelids will 
become tired and heavy and they will have to 
wink and will finally close and you will go to 
sleep. You do not see distinctly and your eye- 
lids are becoming very heavy ; they have to wink, 
and now, they are closing. Let them close ; they 
are tired and you are sleepy. That is right. I 
will place my fingers upon them, so, and help you 
to go to sleep. You are very sleepy, so sleepy 



APPENDIX. 219 



that you could not keep awake if you should try, 
but you will not try, for you are too sleepy and 
want to go to sleep. You are drifting away into 
a quiet, restful sleep, sleep, sleep ; restful, peace- 
ful sleep, sleep, sleep. Now, you are asleep and 
you will sweetly rest ; perfectly relaxed in body 
and mind ; nothing will disturb you until I tell 
you to wake up." 

If he has cooperated with you the subject will 
now be in an hypnosis and amenable to sugges- 
tions. If told that he cannot open his eyes, he 
cannot, and if his arm is raised and he is told 
that he cannot lower it, he cannot. Perhaps it 
should be explained here that the reason for this 
inability lies in the cooperation just mentioned ; 
it has now become so complete that he adopts 
your suggestions as his own. He cannot do it 
simply because he believes he cannot and does 
not and perhaps cannot will it. In the common 
form of expression of many subjects, he does not 
wish to do it. As a matter of fact, he could and 
would resist suggestions that were very distaste- 
ful, possibly, by returning to his normal state. 

The methods described will usually succeed in 
producing hypnosis, but it is necessary to indi- 
vidualize our subjects and adapt the method to 
the subject. It is a good plan to find out what 
the subject knows of hypnotism and how he ex- 



220 APPENDIX. 



pects it will be applied in his case, and then, if 
practical, adapt the method to his notions. It 
will save time and insure success. If he expects 
you to hold his hands, hold them; if he must 
have his forehead rubbed, rub it ; if he wants to 
look at a bright object, furnish one; if he needs 
passes, make them, and so on ad libitum. 

No method of hypnotizing is the method. 
What succeeds with one fails with another. It 
must be borne in mind that the subject really 
hypnotizes himself; you are simply aiding him. 
As soon as he has learned how, he can do it him- 
self without assistance. It is largely a matter of 
education. * * * 

The induction of somnambulism is simple, but 
can only be accomplished in persons who fall 
into profound states of hypnosis. 

After the subject has learned to pass readily 
into a deep hypnosis, and readily accepts inhib- 
itory suggestions, that is, cannot open his eyes 
or lower his raised arm when told that he cannot, 
he is ready for the somnambulic experiments. 
This state should be reached gradually while the 
subject has his eyes closed. The induced sleep 
is easily changed into somnambulism because 
the sleeper is in touch with the operator and has 
become accustomed to adopting his suggestions. 
The change is brought about bv making pro- 



APPENDIX. 



221 



gressive suggestions. Somewhat as follows: 
First, suggest visions or dream pictures ; after- 
ward, sounds, as music and the like; then, the 
sensation of heat and cold; have the subject 
acknowledge that these suggestions have been 
realized, and lastly, assure him that he can open 
his eyes, but that he will not wake up until com- 
manded to do so. He will slowly open his eyes. 
He is now in the somnambulic state. * * * 

Now that we recognize that suggestion sup- 
ported by attention play the principal parts in 
the induction of hypnosis it is quite natural to 
conclude that the same factors would explain 
how hypnosis is removed. This is true. By sug- 
gestion the subject is hypnotized and by sugges- 
tion he is dehypnotized. The operator has the 
subject's attention and can change him from one 
state into another and in like manner can wake 
him up at will. 

When I have completed my therapeutic sug- 
gestions and am ready to awaken my patient I 
proceed as follows : 

"The suggestions I have given you with ref- 
erence to your illness will remain deeply fixed 
upon your mind. You have had a pleasant, rest- 
ful nap, and are about to wake up. You feel 
comfortable and happy and will wake up when 
I count three. Ready, one, two, three. You 
are awake; open your eyes." 



222 APPENDIX. 



It should be borne in mind that the hypno- 
tized are never unconscious and that everything 
that the operator says and does acts as a sugges- 
tion to them. This explains how a timid oper- 
ator sometimes gets into trouble. * * * 

Before leaving this topic let me emphasize a 
thing or two. It is wise, when a patient believes 
that the operator has a special "power," not to 
hasten to disabuse his mind. Hypnotize him 
first and explain afterwards, else it may be very 
difficult to hypnotize him. The reason is plain. 
Another thing, be careful that you do not fall 
into the same error. When you have induced a 
suggestible state in and can dominate the sub- 
ject in thought, word and deed, do not think that 
you have done it by the superior strength of your 
mind. Nothing could be wider of the mark. 
The truth is best. Be not deceived, he did it 
himself. — Extract from Dr. Halphide's work, 
Mind and Body. 



APPENDIX B. 
A STRANGE EXPERIENCE. 

Some time ago I wrote of some experiments 
I had made in telepathy, and now I want to 
write of a little experience I have had since. The 
question was raised at that time whether telep- 
athy was a lower or a higher faculty, one that 
we have passed through in our evolution, or one 
that we are reaching by the same process. That 
thought transference is possible with animals 
seems to be proven by the phenomena I have 
lately witnessed. 

I will relate it just as it occurred: I was in 
a cigar store and while conversing with the pro- 
prietor a gentleman entered, accompanied by a 
Scotch collie dog. The proprietor said: 

"Dr. Halphide, shake hands with Mr. Clason." 

"I am glad to meet Mr. Clason," I said, shak- 
ing his hand, "because I have heard of him and 
his dog, and have wanted to see them/' 

"Yes," answered Mr. Clason, "the dog is a 
well-known animal, much more widely known 
than myself." 

223 



224 APPENDIX. 



"Will you exhibit her for me and let me get an 
idea of her powers of mind reading?" I asked. 

"Certainly," he replied. "Bozzie," he called to 
the dog that had curled herself up in the sun- 
shine on the floor, *'wake up and go around the 
store and come back and tell this gentleman how 
many men there are present." 

The dog got up and deliberately walked 
around the store and came back and sat before 
me and barked nine times without any further 
command, which was the correct number of per- 
sons present. 

The owner then asked me to write a number 
on a slip of paper and let him see it. I wrote the 
number 7, and, after looking at it, he said 

"Bozzie, the doctor has written a number on 
this paper — what is it?" 

The dog immediately barked seven times. 

"Now to prove that it is thought transference 
and that I make no sign to the dog," said Mr. 
Clason, "you will step with me behind this par- 
tition and give me any number that you wish, and 
without seeing the dog I will call to her and 
she will give us the number you dictate. So we 
went behind the partition and I held up my hand. 
indicating the number 5. He then called to the 
dog, while I peered out between the curtains : 

"Bozzie, what is the number this gentleman 
has given me?" 



APPENDIX. 



225 



The dog at once barked five times. It seemed 
that there was no question about the dog's abil- 
ity to read the mind, but in order to make 
sure I made another test for myself. Mr. Clason 
had said that the dog could answer ques- 
tions for me as well as for himself, so I took 
a coin from my pocket dated 1883, and, after 
Mr. Clason had told the dog to look at me and 
answer such questions as I might ask her, I 
said: 

"What is the last figure of the date of this 
coin?" The dog gave three barks. 

"What is the first figure?" I continued. The 
dog gave one bark. 

"What are the two middle figures ?" The dog 
barked eight times. I was convinced. 

"The dog can tell the denomination of 
money," Mr. Clason announced. So I threw a 
25-cent piece upon the floor, and the dog picked 

it up and dropped it into my hand. Then I 
asked her: 

"What is the denomination of the coin? An- 
swer in two figures." She immediately barked 
twice, paused, and then barked five times. Mr. 
Clason then took five dice from the counter and 
threw them on the floor and ordered Bozzie to 
pick them up one by one and tell what number of 
spots was uppermost. The dog picked them up 
as directed, and correctly announced the number 



226 APPENDIX. 



of spots on each. Bozzie had a litter of eleven 
puppies a short time ago, and now has at home 
six of them, so when Mr. Clason asked her how 
many puppies she had had she answered 
"eleven," and when asked how many she had at 
home now, she replied "six." 

"Doctor, the dog can tell your age," Air. 
Clason stated. "Write it upon a slip of paper 
and then ask her to tell you what it is in two 
numbers, and she will tell you." I wrote down 
the age and the dog correctly announced the 
two numbers "3" and "8" in her language of 
barks. Just then a lady came into the store, and 
Mr. Clason asked Bozzie : 

"How many ladies are there present?" She 
at once announced "1." 

"How many gentlemen present wear glasses ?" 
he asked her. She hesitated a moment, and then 
barked twice. There were two of us present 
who wore glasses. 

"How many Jews are there present?" he 
asked. Immediately she barked once. 

"How many Irishmen?" She barked three 

times. 

"How many old men?" She barked once, in 
each case giving the correct answer. 

"The dog is good at mathematics," Air. 
Clason said, and he gave her an intricate problem 
in mental arithmetic which I do not recall, but 



8350 



APPENDIX. 227 



he allowed me to give her a problem. He di- 
rected her attention to me, and I said to her: 

"Bozzie, multiply 3 by 5, add 3, divide by 2, 
subtract 1, divide by 2 again and give me half 
of the result. The dog immediately barked 
twice. I gave the example so rapidly that sev- 
eral present were unable to follow me and we 
were all very much surprised at the readiness 
with which the dog gave the correct answer. 

I have given the account of the exhibition as 
nearly as possible in the language and the order 
in which it occurred, and I make no attempt to 
explain the psychology of the case further than 
to state that in my judgment it is an example of 
telepathy. I shall study the dog further and re- 
port. — Suggestive Therapeutics, May, 1900. 

MORE ABOUT THE DOG. 

Unfortunately Bozzie died before I had an op- 
portunity to complete my study of her, but I 
saw enough of her to satisfy myself that she act- 
ually read my mind as well as that of her master. 
It would seem that this was proven by work 
she did for me while blindfolded and in the dark. 
Had she been dependent upon signs from her 
master or involuntary signs expressed in my 
own face it would have been necessary for her 
to see in order to recognize them. 



228 APPENDIX. 



While she was blindfolded I thought of a num- 
ber and asked her what it was. She immediately 
barked the number in two figures, first 2 and 
then 7. The number was 2J. Several similar 
tests were made and she never failed to give the 
correct answer. 

In the dark she was equally accurate in her 
responses. Without any contact she would an- 
swer any question that could be expressed in her 
language of barks, as the day of the month, the 
month of the year, my age and the like. 

It was expected that we would be able to 
make a thorough study of the dog but her un- 
timely death prevented it. However, enough 
was seen to establish her wonderful intellectual 
faculties and to baffle the most expert psycholo- 
gist. How did she accomplish her feats? The 
answer must be by telepathic communication, 
and all of the wonders of that most mysterious 
process are involved in the solution of the ques- 
tion raised. It would be interesting to discuss 
the subject at length and some day in the near 
future we may be inclined to take it up, but for 
the present we will close by repeating our asser- 
tion that Bozzie was a mind reader. — Suggestive 
Therapeutics, June, 1900. 



>> * 






P"* 



\ m *m f O o *\ *^» /%, -SB 






■■**> «* v .»>-»'-•- T - 







^ 

















v^ • • A <* 

















W : 













♦ „v 



c\. . 



^ * ' ' \$ , . «2* * * ° A *J» Deacidified using the Bookkeeper proce 

^ V ^vL-r^* ^6 4kP •*!>*<£''. ^ Neutralizing agent: Magnesium C 



o ^. Treatment Date: Nov. 20CW 

PreservationTechnologies 



5* ,f 



y<K • 



& 



? << 











:♦ ** *♦ 'Imps J \ -w?' ** % ■■ 





WERT 
BOOKBINDING 

MIDDLETOWN. PA. 

APRIL 82 

tQuttHy Souncr 









* "O 



^ < 



ramp 

IB 



Hi 



ifflNMU| 

HI 



rh 




,,||ihiit|iMiihiiiii 

5S52HKS ■ ^ ;-'•• ' 



HH H BWW 



■HH 

mm 

WBT 

HL 

£§$$98 ,: ' I •• v ■■■■■ fi wsgras 
HHHP 
.■ . 
■■I 



.... . .;. j ; 




wBBBm 
HHB 

HHHE 
Hill 



RISK 'llllF 

HHHHV 

^ . i i HE 1 :. ..■■■'■,-.■.■. 



